A Fine Line
by Gohaun
Summary: Set in an AU. Rey and Ben are both seniors in high school, and have been enemies for years. What happens when Ben has his sights set on a girl who hates his guts? Rated M for some adult content in later chapters.
1. Hate

This is an AU fic, set in high school years. Rey and Ben are both seniors in high school and 18 years old. This is my first Star Wars fic so bear with me.

"I hate you," Rey seethed as she looked at the black-haired man in front of her.

He smiled; not a happy smiled, but an evil, sadistic smile. "There's a fine line between love and hate. Rey," his deep voice replied.

She pushed him away from her, and adapted a karate stance. "Don't make me kick your ass again, Ben."

His smile faded and his eyes narrowed to angry slits.

She had only beat him once, but she made sure not to let him forget it. He backed away from her, and straightened his letterman jacket.

"You will date me, someday, I promise you." He turned on his heel and walked away from her.

Rey sighed and relaxed. Ben was the biggest jock and jerk in the school, add in the fact that his parents were beyond rich and it just made everything worse.

"What did he want?" Finn, Rey's best friend asked as he neared her.

"A date," she replied with disgust.

"He never knows when to give up, does he?" Finn shook his head.

"No." Rey let out a frustrated sigh, and began to walk toward the school.

"Isn't Kylo so dreamy?" Rey's friends Rose swooned at lunch time.

Instead of answering, Rey snorted in disgust.

Tearing her gaze away from the jock, Rose looked at the brunette in front of her. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"Why do you like him so much?" Rey retorted.

As the girls looked at each other, Poe sat down next to them. Poe was a football player, but unlike most of the others, he was nice.

"I want to know that as well," Poe said taking a large bite from an apple. "What is it about Kylo, the girls like so much?" He was looking at Rey.

"His name is Ben. And don't look at me, I detest that boy," Rey growled.

"There's something wrong with you, Rey," Rose said. "He's so dreamy. His deep voice, sexy hair, and a body that looks like it's been sculpted by the angels themselves. Plus, his parents are rich."

"He's full of himself, a total jerk, and a womanizer. He acts like he's God's gift to man," Rey added. "I don't know how you can be attracted to him.

"He's not really a womanizer," Poe chimed in.

Rey shot Poe a look that would have killed him, given the chance.

"Not lately anyway." Another huge bite of the apple and Poe kept talking. "He told me a few months ago that he'd fallen really hard for some girl, and he was saving himself for her."

Rey scoffed again. "You have to have a heart to fall in love, and he's as heartless as they come."

"I'm serious Rey," Poe retorted. "He hasn't been with a girl since; not even for his famous one-night stands."

"He must be good at hiding things then, cause he asked me out again this morning."

Poe stopped mid-bite and looked at her incredulously. "He did?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm . . . interesting." His apple crunched again.

"What are you doing over here anyway, Poe?" Rey queried. "Aren't you supposed to be with your mighty leader and your team?"

"Kylo . . ." Poe began.

"Ben," Rey interrupted.

"Ben," Poe said submissively, "may be the captain of the football team, but he doesn't rule our lives. Besides, I kinda like the way he gets pissed when he sees me talking to you."

Rose chimed in then. "You two seem like polar opposites, I wonder why he's so into you."

"Why do you say that?" Rey questioned her friend.

"You're the nicest girl in school, Rey, everyone knows you and loves you. And while all the girls wish they could be with Ky. . . Ben, they all know how much of an ass he can be," she explained.

"It's true," Poe agreed. "He may be voted the hottest man in this school, but there's no doubt you're the sexiest chick, Rey."

Rey's cheeks started to burn. "Yeah right," she scoffed.

"Believe what you want, Rey, but it's true. How many guys, including myself, have asked you out this year alone?"

"Too many."

"And you turn them all down. You even manage to do it nicely. You've never dated a single guy all through high school. People are starting to wonder if you're gay."

Rey choked on the food in her mouth. "What?!"

"It's true," Rose said.

"Well, you can assure people that's not the case, I'm just not interested in wasting my time on a bunch of boys who think with the wrong brain."

Poe laughed. "You may find your true love."

"Doubt that." Rey's eyes traveled to the jock table where she noticed Ben looking at her. He gave her a smile and winked before she scoffed and averted her gaze.

"Hey, get away from him," Rey shouted as she ran toward a group of boys who were ganging up on another boy.

"Rey," Simon, the resident nerd of the school exclaimed. He held his books tightly to his chest and backed away from the bullies surrounding him.

Rey placed herself between Simon and the group. "Don't you have better things to do with your time besides pick on poor Simon?" She spat.

"Mind your own business, Jedi," the tallest boy rebutted, calling her by the nickname she had been given over the years in school.

"We had a deal," a blonde added. "We told him we'd leave him alone if he did our chemistry homework, but he didn't hold up his end of the deal."

"You're pathetic, all of you." She growled. "Do your own homework."

"We suck at chem, and we need to have passing grades in order to play football," another boy explained.

"And what does Ben think of your behavior?" She asked, then shook her head. "Never mind, I don't care. Now beat it, before I beat you." She raised her hands, ready to fight.

"Get her boys," the first boy roared.

"Simon, run!" Rey commanded as she began fending off the gang.

Simon panicked for a moment but soon took off.

Rey was a natural when it came to karate, but had gotten better since she'd started training with a master.

They fought for about ten minutes before they were interrupted.

"Hey!" A deep voice boomed. "What do you think you're doing?" Ben stormed up and began to pull the boys away from Rey one-by-one.

"Kylo!" The blonde exclaimed.

"What's going on here?" Ben demanded.

When the boys didn't answer, Rey pipped up. "They were bullying Simon, so I stepped in."

Ben's eyes went wide with anger. "And you all thought it would be a good idea to fight her?"

"She started it," the tall one defended.

"I did not," Rey countered.

"I don't care who started it," Ben grumbled. "I told you to leave Simon alone once already. I'll be sure to keep you all one the bench for the rest of the season. You should feel lucky that I stepped in before se kicked the snot out of you all. Now scram, and if I hear that you're bugging Simon again, I'll make sure you're kicked from the team permanently."

Defeated, the boys left.

Ben turned to Rey, concern filling his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I didn't need your help," she replied, anger in her voice.

"I know, but they did," he replied.

Blood trickled down form her mouth where she'd been hit, and Ben reached out to wipe it away.

She swatted his hand away. "Don't touch me."

The black-haired man sighed and pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket. "Here," he offered it to her.

She eyed the piece of cloth and the person offering it suspiciously.

"Take it, Rey, it doesn't bite, I promise." He shoved it in her hand and she reluctantly put it against her bleeding skin. He smiled; not a seductive or evil smile, but a genuine, happy smile.

Rey's eyes traveled from his mouth, up to his eyes, and was surprised to see how gorgeous they were when he was happy.

Their eyes locked for a moment before Rey looked away, suddenly feeling self-conscience.

"You're sexy when you fight," Ben said.

"You're a pig," she seethed, her hate for him returning.

"You'd better get going. I'd hate for you to be late for your 'date' with my uncle," Ben scoffed as he took a step away. "Be sure to let me know if you find those dirt-bags bullying Simon again." He turned on his heel and walked away.

That's it for this chapter. Please review, and stay tuned.

Gohaun


	2. Change

**Change**

"What's wrong with you today, Rey?" Luke asked as they ran through their warm up katas. "Your movements are sloppy."

"Sorry, master," she apologized.

"What's bothering you?" The older man questioned.

"It's nothing, master. I'm sorry, I'll try to focus." She began to run through her katas again, only to stumble once more. She growled in frustration and apologized once again.

"Perhaps we should skip practice today so you can meditate," Luke suggested.

"Have you ever hated someone so much you can't stand it?" She blurted, unable to contain herself any longer.

"Hate is a strong word, Rey," Luke advised.

"I know but he just," she stopped to think for a moment, "pushes all my buttons. Like he knows exactly what to say to piss me off."

Luke sat down cross-legged on the floor and Rey followed suit.

"Who are we talking about exactly?" He asked. This was the first time Rey had ever opened up to him, and he wasn't about to complain.

Rey was an orphan. She had been through the system most her life, but was now old enough to live on her own. She had a job and her studio apartment, and while she was a very kind girl, she was very guarded and didn't share her feelings often.

"Ben," she replied.

"Ben? My nephew, Ben?"

"Yes." She sighed again. "I hate him."

"Why?" Luke was actually curious. He and Ben didn't talk often, and he already knew how totally opposite Rey and Ben were. But he wanted to hear it from her.

Feeling like a broken record, she once again rattled off the same list as she had earlier to Poe and Rose. "He acts so entitled; he's been fed off a silver spoon his entire life, and it just bugs me."

"You've never gotten so worked up over him before, and you've gone to school with him for five years now. What happened to change that?" Luke queried when she was finished.

"I don't know," she stated. "He's been pestering me for a date more often lately, and," she paused, "something seems different somehow."

Luke pondered for a moment. "There's a fine line between love and hate, Rey."

She looked at her master incredulously. "Why do people keep saying that? He said that to me too." She threw her hands up in frustration. "What does that even mean?"

"It means, both love and hate can consume you completely. When you wake up, I assume Ben is one of the first things that comes to your mind. It's that way when you're in love; he becomes the only thing on your mind.

"Be careful, Rey. Hate is often confused for love, as love can be for hate. Both are very powerful emotions that make people do questionable things at times.

"You and Ben are very different, but they say opposites attract." He stopped and chose his next words wisely. "Perhaps you could do him some good."

"Master!" She nearly screamed. "Don't even think that. I'll never be with that womanizer. NEVER!"

Luke chuckled. "We'll see."

"How's your lip?" Ben's deep voice asked from behind Rey the next morning as she rummaged in her locker.

"Why do you care?" She retorted into her locker.

"It would be a shame to ruin such beautiful lips," he answered as if it were the natural thing to say.

"Bug off." She slammed her locker and spun around, her eyes slits.

What happened next, shocked her. Ben grabbed her chin and leaned down to inspect her swollen lip. "It doesn't look like it'll scar, that's good." His voice was gentler than she'd ever heard it. Usually it was dripping with sex or anger when he talked to her.

Suddenly aware of his proximity and her burning cheeks she backed away from him.

"I didn't get a chance to wash your handkerchief," she nearly whispered.

"You can keep it." He shoved something in her hand for the second time in two days. "Use this on your lip, it'll help it heal faster."

Unable to speak she watched in silence as he smiled at her and began to walk away.

"What was that all about?" Finn asked appearing beside her.

Rey opened her hand and looked down at the lip ointment Ben had given her. "I don't know," she replied slowly. She glanced up at her friend then to the back of the man who had shown her kindness for the first time. "But something has got to be wrong with Ben."

"Why do you say that?" Finn questioned.

"He's being nice to me." Her eyes once again wandered down to the item in her hand.

"Rey, you have a request," Heather, one of her co-workers said as she walked up behind her at work.

"I do?"

"Yeah, he's in your section. Table seven." The older woman smiled.

Rey shrugged and headed out. Donning her pen and pad, she made her way over to the appointed table, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw who was sitting there.

Rey was a waitress at a diner called The Force. While she rarely wore make-up at school, she found she made better tips when she wore some at work. Today she had a brown smoky eye, and a nude lipstick. Her hair was pulled back into a simple French braid and white tear-drop earrings dangled from her ears.

"What are you doing here?" She asked the black-haired man.

"Is that any way to treat a paying customer?" Ben questioned, raising an eyebrow. He was clearly amused.

Regaining her composure, she cleared her throat. "Welcome to The Force, my name is Rey, I'll be taking care of you today. What can I get you started with today?"

Ben smiled and quickly ordered his drink.

When Rey reached the kitchen, she was suddenly bombarded by her co-workers.

"Is that your boyfriend?"

"He's a hottie, how do you know him?"

Rey scoffed. "Why does everyone think he's so hot? And no, definitely NOT my boyfriend."

Heather smiled. "He's a very nice looking young man. How do you know him?"

"We go to school together." She quickly got Ben's drink and headed back to him.

"Co-workers giving you grief?" Ben asked knowingly as she placed a soda on the table.

"Yeah," she answered.

"You look beautiful, Rey. Though I have to admit, I think you look better with less makeup," Ben told her quietly.

Did he just compliment her? She stood there in silence for a moment, pen and pad in hand. Finally, able to compose herself she asked for his order.

She tried to avoid the tall boy as much as she could without being a bad waitress.

The brunette dropped off one last drink. "Would you like any dessert today?"

He stared at her for a moment. "When do you get a break Rey?"

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?"

"Take a break and have some cake with me. My treat." He smiled. "You've been working your butt off, and I know how much you like chocolate."

"I can't, I've got . . ." she began.

"Don't tell me you have things to do," he interrupted her. "Your last table just left for now." He paused, then added. "It's just dessert. Take a break, I don't bite."

She contemplated him for a moment. She had been very busy, and her feet were aching. She could use a pick-me-up.

"Okay," she finally agreed reluctantly. "What would you like?"

A grin spread across his face. "Surprise me."

Rey nodded and walked to the back. "I'm going to take a quick break," she told Heather as she dished up two slices of chocolate cake.

As she reached Bens she became very aware of herself. Placing one plate in front of Ben, she stood for a moment, wondering to herself what she was doing.

"Sit down, Rey," Ben's deep voice snapped through her thoughts. He motioned toward the seat in front of him.

"I'll be right back." She panicked, and placed her cake on the table before walking off.

"Everything okay, dear?" Heather asked when Rey appeared again.

"What am I doing? I hate him," she said throwing her hands in the air.

"Breathe, it's just a piece of cake. Take a break, go talk to him. You might find he's not the boy you think he is."

Taking a deep breath, Rey forced herself to calm down. Heather handed her a glass of ice water and shooed her out with a wave of her hands.

Sitting across from Ben she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot my water."

Ben eyed her for a moment. "It's okay." He picked up his fork and took a large bite of cake. "MMMM." He looked at the girl across form him, who still hadn't began eating. "Eat," he said.

Rey picked up her fork and took a bite of her own cake. She found herself taking a good look at the boy. When he wasn't being a jerk or trying to be smooth, he was really quite handsome. Her eyes landed on a small scar on his cheek.

As if it had a will of her own, her hand reached out and softly ran a finger down the scar.

Ben froze at her touch, his eyes going wide.

"How'd you get that?" She asked quietly, retracting her hand and taking another bite of cake.

Ben chuckled, and Rey found the sound beautiful. "You gave it to me."

Her eyes widened. "I did?"

"Yeah," he replied. "The one time we fought, and you beat me."

"Oh," was all Rey could say.

They sat in silence for a while. As soon as they were done with their cake, Rey downed her water and stood up, not wanting to spend too much time with Ben and give him the wrong idea. She grabbed his plate.

"Thank you," she said quickly. "For the cake."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

Rey walked to the back with the dirty dishes and by the time she retuned with the updated check, Ben was already gone.

On the table lay a $100 bill and a note written on a napkin in neat writing:

Keep the change. Thanks for tonight.

Shock ran through her as she looked at the large bill on the table and the check in her hand. Then she smiled. Maybe Ben wasn't as bad as she thought.

The next Monday she found a single rose gently taped to her locker. She removed it slowly and glanced around her, hoping to find the culprit; but no one seemed to be paying attention to her.

Smiling, she drew the rose to her nose and inhaled the sweet scent.

The same thing happened all week. In the morning she found a single rose on her locker. A different color each day, and each one as flawless as the last.

"That's the fifth rose you've gotten this week," Finn observed on Friday.

"Yeah," Rey said, spinning the thorn-less rose gently. "I wonder who's leaving them."

Finn gave her a cynical look. "Seriously?"

"What?" She asked, averting her eyes from the rose to her friend.

"It's got to be from Kylo," he stated.

"Ben? There's no way he could be this sweet." As soon as she said that she thought back to all the things he started doing for her over the past few weeks. Protecting Simon, the handkerchief, the ointment, the cake and the tip.

"Rey, are you okay? You spaced for a minute there," Finn interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry." She smiled at her friend. Her eyes once again traveled to the rose, then to Ben's normal table, where she once again found him looking at her.

Their eyes locked and a shiver ran through her. He was smiling again, but instead of the typical wink. He simply nodded his head to acknowledge her, and turned his attention back to his friends.

"Okay class," Rey and Ben's English teacher said later that Friday. "I'm putting you into pairs. I want you to work on this project together. It's due Tuesday, so you may want to get together over the weekend to get started." She began to read off pairs. "Rey," she finally called. "You're with Ben."

Rey's eyes nearly popped out of her head and she glance toward her new partner who was grinning from ear-to-ear.

As soon as the bell rang, Ben made a b-line for her, a goofy grin on his face.

"Can we get started this weekend?" He asked, pacing himself with her as she strode down the hall.

"I have to work," she told him. "Let's just split the work and do our parts separately."

"No." He stepped in front of her and stopped. "We are going to work on this together."

Rey sighed in frustration. "Ben, be reasonable here." She looked up at him. "I have to work."

"But you work early on the weekends, don't you? We can get together after that," he suggested.

"I'm helping out your uncle with a class after work," she told him.

"Why?" Ben asked.

"To earn some extra money and to help pay for my own training. Luke has been nice enough to train me for free, but I feel like I owe him," she explained.

A look of remembrance crossed Ben's face. "Then after that."

"After that I want to go home and shower, then eat dinner," she replied.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Ben groaned. "I'll pick you up after training with my uncle. You can shower at my place and we can order take out for dinner and work together while we eat."

"God, you're persistent," Rey moaned. "Fine."

Ben smiled. "Good. See you tomorrow at my uncles' studio."

"Rey, glad to see you made it," Luke said the next day as she arrived.

"Of course, I did." She smiled. "So, I'm just helping you train this group, right?"

"Yeah," Luke purred. "As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not as young as I used to be, and I think this particular group would respond better to you anyway."

Rey's face grew somber. "Please don't talk like that, Master."

Luke let out a jovial laugh. "I'm only human, Rey. I'm getting old." His eyes sparkled. "Go get changed, and I'll meet you on the mat."

Doing as she was told, Rey changed and went to stand next to Luke on the mat as the students arrived.

Once the students were assembled, Luke stepped forward and bowed to his class. The all bowed back in unison, including Rey.

"Today we are going to start sparring," Luke began. "This isn't like what we've done in the past. While sparring, you want to fight to the best of your ability, without hurting your opponent." He smiled now and turned to Rey. "Instead of explaining how this works, I thought I'd show you all an example." He handed Rey a pair or padded gloves. "Put these on." A devilish look crossed his face now. "And her opponent will be," he paused and looked behind Rey. "My nephew, Ben."

Rey's eyes grew wide as she turned to see Ben, clad only in pants, walking toward her. Her cheeks grew red as she took in his shirtless figure, and she tried to hide her embarrassment as she looked down at her hands and focused on her gloves.

"We will give them ten minutes," Luke interrupted Rey's thoughts. "If one doesn't take the other down before the end of those ten minutes, we will determine the winner based off points. Watch closely, these two are the best students I have."

The two teens faced each other and wordlessly bowed. What was only seconds, but seemed like minutes, passed and she adopted her fighting stance.

Luke's voice seemed distant as he calmly said "begin."

She analyzed Ben for a few moments before she swiftly moved forward. They had fought before, but usually they fought out of anger. This time was different, and as they exchanged blows, Rey found herself enjoying the fight. Before she knew it, she had knocked Ben to the ground and quickly pinned him down, her body straddling his, and her hands on is wrist.

Both were breathing hard, and sweat had begun to glisten on their faces. As she sat there, she took in Ben's appearance once again. Man, he was sexy after a fight.

It wasn't until she felt something twitch beneath her bottom and Luke cleared his throat, that she realized the compromising position she was in. Face turning beet red, she hopped off Ben and created some distance. Ben got to his feet and the two bowed to each other once again.

Luke's voice sounded distant as her heart pounded in her ears. Though she hadn't heard most of what he'd said, she knew she had been excused to go for the rest of the day.

She grabbed her bag from the corner and went to the front lobby where Ben was waiting for her, now fully clothed. She blushed once more as she remembered what had just happened.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here too?" Rey asked quietly.

"I didn't think it was important at the time. Plus, I only remembered when you mentioned it yesterday," Ben replied. He opened the door and motioned for her to exit. "Shall we?"

Nodding, Rey headed out the door being held open for her and followed Ben to a very nice car waiting outside. They drove in silence and awe came over her as they drove up to a very large and fancy house.

"This is your house?" Rey questioned.

"Yeah," Ben replied casually. They stopped in the driveway and Ben quickly got out while Rey continued to sit in the car, still in awe of the large house in front of her. It was only when Ben opened her door and asked if she was coming that she snapped out of it and climbed out.

She followed the tall boy in silence as he made his way to his room.

Ben Solo's room was bigger than her entire apartment. She stood in the doorway and took in her surroundings.

His room was tidier than she had somehow expected, and all kinds on trinkets and trophies and pictures lined the walls. A large desk stood on one side of the room, a king-sized bed on the other, and a large entertainment center, complete with big screen TV took up another part of the room.

"The bathroom is over there," Ben's voice entered her thoughts.

Rey followed his finger to see another door, presumably leading to the bathroom.

"Go shower, and I'll get some snacks and food brought up," he explained.

Her voice was meek when she answered. "Ok."

Still brushing her hair, she walked out of the bathroom to find a plethora of food laid out on a table that must have been brought in while she was showering. Her eyes grew big. "That's a lot of food."

Ben blushed slightly. "I didn't know what you liked, so I had out chef prepare a few different things."

"Chef? You have a chef?"

"Yeah."

"Wow." She stood until Ben pulled out a seat for her and sat down across from the chair he had offered her. "You're very out of character today," she stated sitting in the chair and looking over at Ben who was blushing again. He was kind of cute when he blushed.

"Am I?" He asked with a smile. "Or maybe it's not and you just never bothered to notice."

"Did you shower too?" She queried, noting that his hair was slightly damp and his clothes were different.

"Yeah, I used the shower down the hall." He began to dish up some food. "I figured we could talk about our project while we ate, then work on it a little when we finished. After that, I thought you might want a tour of the house?"

She nodded, dishing some lasagna onto her plate. "I would. I've never been in a house this huge." Blood rushed to her ears as she realized how poor, and pathetic she must sound.

"This room is our gym," Ben explained, opening yet another door and turning on the lights.

"This is amazing," Rey hummed with delight. She turned to look at Ben as she smiled. "You are so lucky to have all this."

"Yeah I guess I am." Ben closed the distance between them.

"I could never dream of having even a portion of this house." She watched him as he got closer. The more time she spent with him, the less she bore resentment toward him. He stopped only a few inches away from her and she looked up at him.

"You're welcome to come use this whenever you want." His voice was soft and sincere. Reaching out he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

A jolt of electricity ran through her where he touched her and she had to force herself to look away from him and take a step back. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Why do you act like such a macho jerk at school?"

Ben laughed. "I have a reputation to uphold," he began. "People see me as the rich boy, captain of the football team, and all-around jock. I have to act tough to hold respect from the guys. And the girls love the way I flirt."

Rey raised an eyebrow.

He laughed again. "Most of them anyway."

"How many . . ." she began. Her cheeks burned as she contemplated the question she was about to ask. "Never mind."

Ben smiled knowingly. "You want to know how many girls I've actually slept with."

"No, it's none of my business, I shouldn't have asked." She couldn't look at him as she felt the heat run down her chest.

"You didn't ask, technically." He leaned down and whispered suggestively in her ear. "Enough to know what I'm doing."

The heat of his breath on her ear made her heart race, and she stepped back trying to distance herself from the boy who was making her body go wild. Not paying attention, she tripped and began to fall, but Ben grabbed her. Both his arms were wrapped tightly around her body, her hands on his sculpted chest.

"Careful." His voice was barely audible. He straightened up, not letting her go.

Her eyes travelled down to his lips and she wanted so badly to kiss him in that moment. It seemed Ben was thinking the same thing. He began to lean down when she panicked and pushed out of his arms.

"Can you take me home please," she asked quietly. "I have to work early again tomorrow."

Defeated, Ben nodded and headed out of the gym.

"You live here?" Ben asked as he drove up to her complex.

"Yeah," Rey replied sheepishly. "Thanks for the ride home." She began to open the door.

"Can we get together tomorrow?" Ben's hopeful voice filled her ears.

"Sure," she replied. "I get off work at 4."

"I'll pick you up, if you want," he offered.

"Okay."

Are things changing between these two? Read on to find out, and please review.

Gohaun


	3. Date

**Date**

A few weeks later Ben approached Rey. It was after school and Rey was sitting in the courtyard reading a book to pass time before she headed off to work.

"Rey," he called to her, taking her attention from her book. He sat down next to her, placing his book bag at his feet.

"Hey." Placing her book aside she smiled and looked up at him.

"You've been avoiding me since we finished with our project," Ben stated. "Why?"

"I haven't been avoiding you," she lied. She had, in fact, been avoiding the black-haired boy. After the incident at his house, she felt awkward. He'd been about to kiss her, and she had wanted him too. She'd been battling with herself every day since. She had held such a hatred toward him for so long, it was strange for her to admit she was becoming attracted to him. Even more, it was terrifying. She often found herself day dreaming about him, or watching him at school. But she had never told anyone.

"Really now?" Ben's eyebrows raised as he gave her an incredulous look. "I think you have."

"I've just been busy," she fibbed again. "Did you want something?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact." He turned his body more toward her. "I want to hang out again. Not because we have a project, but because we want to, because we can."

"Like a date?" Rey asked cautiously.

"No, I mean, if you don't want to. It can be casual, at my place again, or yours, if that's more comfortable for you," he offered.

She contemplated his offer for a moment. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't wanted to spend more time with him. "I'm off tomorrow, if you want, we can watch a movie at my place." She blushed. "But I won't be able to cook dinner or anything. I haven't had a chance to go shopping."

"I'll get the movie, and dinner. Deal?" Ben smiled.

"Okay."

He stood, his features practically glowing. "See you tomorrow. Meet me here and we can pick up dinner and the movie after school."

Rey nodded. Butterflies took over her stomach as she watched him walk away.

Rey opened the door to her apartment and invited Ben in. As he closed the door he took in her tiny apartment. A small kitchen was directly visible from the front door. Directly in front of the kitchen was the small living area. A twin sized day bed was right up against the back of the kitchen cabinet. A small TV and stand across from it. Her laptop and a few other things lay on an end table next to her bed. A door that led to the bathroom was on the far end of the living room.

"It's not much, but it's home," Rey said. "I don't have a table, so we'll have to put dinner in the kitchen."

Ben looked around the tiny apartment and a look of pity adorned his face. He was slightly frowning when Rey turned to look at him again.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Rey whispered. "We can cancel if you want."

"No," Ben replied swiftly. "No, I want to hang out with you."

"You look unhappy," Rey pointed out.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't realize you lived in such a small place," Ben replied.

"Don't pity me," Rey demanded. "It may be small, but it's the first real home I've ever had, and I love it." She handed him a plate and began to open the take-out packages they had gotten.

They sat on the floor to eat and have a light conversation. Once they were done eating Rey put the movie in and took off her shoes to sit on her bed. Ben looked slightly confused when she did this. She patted the bed next to her.

"My bed doubles as my couch," she explained. "Just take off your shoes before you sit down." She tucked her feet under her and positioned her pillow against the bars, getting comfortable. As Ben sat down, she pushed play on her remote.

They watched the movie in silence, and when the credits started to roll, Ben spoke for the first time.

"Rey, I have something to tell you." He turned to look at her for the first time since the movie started, and smiled when he realized that she had curled up and fallen asleep. As gently as he could, he slipped off the bed and covered her with a blanket.

Ben had a hard time taking his eyes off her; part of him wanted to curl up beside the girl and share her warmth, but another part of him knew she wouldn't like that. Instead, he pushed her hair out of her face and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

She stirred, but only lightly, causing Ben to hold his breath until she settled down again. A soft moan escaped her lips, along with a soft whisper of his name.

That sound alone was enough to get him excited, and he decided to leave. The entire drive home, a smiled adorned his face; she had been dreaming about him.

Rey woke the next morning, and after a few moments realized what had happened; she had fallen asleep on Ben. Her phone chimed, reminding her of an old text and she smiled when she saw it was from the person she had been about to text.

'You fell asleep. I didn't want to disturb you. Hope you slept well, see you at school.'

She quickly replied. 'I'm so sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought. We'll have to get together again to make up for it.'

'You owe me a real date this time, to make up for it.'

Rey's face burned at that thought. If she was being honest, she didn't go on dates because she didn't have anything decent to wear, but the thought of going out with Ben made her heart race and her stomach flutter.

'We'll talk at school.'

"Rose, can I ask a huge favor of you?" Rey asked her closest friend when she saw her at lunch.

"Depends," her friend replied with a smile. "What's the favor?"

Her ears began to burn as she thought about what she was about to ask. "Can I borrow one of your dresses?"

Rose's eyes went wide and she looked at her friend with surprise. "A dress? What for?"

Rey wasn't the type of girl to wear dresses. She was somewhat of a tom boy; while she knew how to do her hair in simple styles and her make-up good enough for work, she had never been on a date, and didn't know what to do.

Her reply was quiet. "I have a date."

"What did you say?" Rose leaned in closer to her friend.

"I have a date," Rey repeated a little louder, regretting it as Poe had just walked up.

"You have a date?" Poe questioned. "With who?"

"That's what I want to know." Rose leaned in again, intrigued by this new development.

"Does it really matter?" Rey was trying to dodge the question.

"Yes," Rose and Poe said simultaneously.

The brunette was pretty sure her entire face was red as a tomato by now, and she found her eyes wandering over to the boy in question.

Poe followed her gaze. "I knew it!" He nearly yelled.

"What?" Rose asked.

"It's Ben, isn't it?" Poe's eyes bore into Rey.

Blushing even more, if that was possible, Rey softly nodded.

"Are you serious?" Rose's voice raised an octave.

"Keep it down, will ya," Rey hissed.

Finn now joined them at the table. "What's going on?"

"Rey has a date," Poe replied.

"With Ben!" Rose nearly squeaked.

"No way," Finn raged. "I thought you hated that jerk."

"I did," Rey admitted. "But something's changed." She looked her friend right in the eye. "He's changed."

"He's in love," Poe interjected.

"That's not possible," Rey retorted.

"But it is," Poe argued. "Don't you remember, a while ago when I told you Ben said he's fallen for a girl really hard and hadn't been going after random girls anymore?"

"I remember." She looked at Poe now, her eyes growing wide.

"You are the only girl he's been actively pursuing." Poe met her eyes with a grin. "He was talking about you." A jovial laugh filled Rey's ears. "I should have known."

Anger, or maybe it was embarrassment, filled Rey. "Shut up!" She yelled. Erupting out of her seat and leaning over the table, she closed the distance between herself and the jock who was currently laughing. The close proximity of his friend made Poe stop laughing.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"You think you know everything, Poe, but you don't," Rey hissed. "I'm already unsure of this whole situation with Ben, you don't need to make it worse by saying things like that. Besides, you don't know it's me he was talking about. Hell, you don't even fucking know if he was telling you the truth, so please, stop acting like you know exactly what's going on, cause none of us do." She plopped down in her chair.

"Gee, Rey, you're awfully defensive," Finn murmured.

She sighed, calming herself down. "Sorry. It's just, I'm barely to the point of tolerating Ben, I don't want to hear that he's in love with me. And if he is, I need to hear it come out of his mouth." She paused and looked at Rose. "I just hope he doesn't tell me anytime soon, if that's the case."

Rose nodded. "What will you do if he does?"

"I don't know." Rey folded her arms and relaxed in her seat. Her eyes once again traveled to the boy they were discussing. "I'm more interested in finding out why he's been acting so strange lately. If he came out and said it, I guess it would explain things. But I'm not interested in him like that."

Rose sighed. "When is your date?"

"Friday night. I have the night off."

"Ok, I'll help you get ready."

Relief washed over Rey. "Thank you."

Friday came far too fast as far as Rey was concerned and she found herself sitting on Rose's bed as her friend rummaged through her closet.

"Maybe this one," Rose said pulling out a red dress and holding it up to see it over Rey. "No." She swiftly put it back in her closet. This happened a few more times until Rose finally settled on a forest green sleeve-less dress that landed slightly below Rey's knee.

After putting the dress on, Rey stood awkwardly in front of the mirror, one arm covering her front. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Why?" Rose questioned as she handed Rey a pair of black flats.

"I've never really been on a date before, and I don't even really like Ben," Rey admitted.

"You must like him a little," Rose pointed out. "Besides, it's too late to back out now, Ben is on his way here."

"What?" Rey's eyes went wide. "How does he even know I'm here?"

"I text him and told him to come get you." Rose held up her phone.

"How do you have his number?" Rey plopped down on her friends' bed and tried to calm herself.

Rose giggled. "I highly doubt there's a single girl in our school that doesn't have his number."

Rey's cheeks went red and her chest tightened. What was this feeling welling up inside her? She almost felt . . .angry? "Have you and Ben ever . . . you know?" Rey asked quietly.

"No," Rose replied honestly. "I may fawn all over him, but we've never actually hung out outside of school. I have his number from years ago, he's never changed it."

Rey looked at her friend. "I don't know why I'm doing this. Yeah, he's been super sweet and totally out of character lately, but he's been the closest thing to an enemy I've had for a long time."

Rose sat next to her friend. "It's just a date Rey, it's not like you're getting married. If you don't have fun, you don't have to go again."

Rey smiled. "You're the best friend a girl could hope for. Thanks."

*15 minutes earlier*

A knock on the door tore Ben's eyes away from the mirror in front of him. "Come in."

His mother walked through the door. She looked at his suit and tie. "Going out?"

"Yeah," he answered turning back to the mirror and tying his tie.

"Another conquest?" Leia asked. She was no stranger to her son's reputation and antics. She had seen him bring home many girls, and had heard stories from the staff of things that went on when she wasn't there.

Ben finished straightening his tie and turned to his mother again. "No, mother."

A smile adorned her features. "You have an actual girlfriend now?"

"No," he replied honestly. "Not yet anyway." He sighed. "But I really like this girl, mom." His phone chimed and he picked it up. "She's ready, I have to go."

"Have fun, son," she said.

"Thanks, see you later." He half hugged her and left the room.

Ben couldn't stop his heart from pounding as he walked up to the house to pick up Rey. He rang the doorbell and stood anxiously.

When it finally opened it was Rose's smiling face that greeted him. "Hey, Ben!" She opened the door and let him in. "She'll be right down."

Ben nodded and entered her house, staying in the entry way. When Rey finally made her way down the stairs, his breath caught.

Her green dress matched her complexion, and brought out her eyes, and the way her hair fell in loose curls around her face made her look even softer than she usually did.

"Hey," she said softly when she finally reached him.

"Hi," he echoed, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "Ready?"

She nodded and looked over at Rose. "I'll bring you your dress on Monday."

Rose grinned. "Don't have too much fun!"

Rey just shook her head and followed Ben out the door.

The ride was quiet, with both of them feeling nervous, and when Ben finally pulled up to their destination, Rey gasped.

Ben smiled as he pulled up to the Valet and exited the car.

"Mr. Solo, we've been expecting you," the driver said with a slight bow.

Another Valet opened the door for Rey and she got out slowly. "Ben," she whispered when she took his offered arm. "I'm not dressed for something like this."

He stopped and turned to look her straight in the eyes. "You look perfect, Rey."

"This is a high-end restaurant, it's black tie only here. I'm nowhere near dressed up enough for this," Rey protested. She wasn't entirely comfortable going into such a fancy place. When she was able to eat out it was usually something fast and cheap. She took a step backwards.

"Rey," Ben said quietly. "You are beautiful. They won't make a fuss. Besides, my parents own this restaurant, so you're fine as long as you're with me."

Rey wasn't sure if she should be surprised or pissed. Of course, he would use his parent's money to impress her. She still hesitated.

"Rey," Ben repeated. His eyes were almost pleading as he looked at her again.

She sighed, defeated by the look in his eyes and simply nodded.

He smiled and offered her his arm once more.

She had never seen so many pretty women and dressed up men in her life; and the restaurant was so beautifully put together, Rey had to stop herself from gawking.

They followed the hostess out to the patio where they sat amongst lit candles and string lights. The foliage was placed strategically, making the patio more private and adding to the ambiance.

Rey thanked the hostess when she handed them each a menu and her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she looked at the prices.

"Ben, I couldn't possibly ask you to pay this much for my meal," she said quietly.

"Money is no object. Have whatever you'd like," Ben replied.

The brunette fidgeted as she read through the menu.

"Is everything okay?" Ben questioned.

She blushed. "I'm sorry," she replied sheepishly. "I don't know what any of this stuff is."

"But you work at a diner."

"A _simple_ diner with _simple_ things like hamburgers, and pancakes."

Ben nodded in understanding. "Would you like me to order something for you? Or we could order one of everything and see which one you prefer?"

She shook her head. "Please don't do that. Just order me one thing. I'm not very picky."

Ben smiled.

Dinner was awkward. They made small talk, but Rey was very uncomfortable in such a fancy place, feeling out of place.

The food was wonderful and the staff friendly. But Rey was relieved when they were finally done and left.

Ben took her home after.

"Thanks for dinner," she told him as they pulled up to her apartment building.

"Can we do this again?" He asked hopeful.

She shook her head. "You and I are just too different. I'm sorry, Ben. Thanks again." She opened the door to get out.

"Rey, wait," he said quickly.

"Good night, Ben." She closed the door and walked away.

Ben watched her go, his chest tight. He slammed his hands on the steering wheel and cussed. When he could no longer see her, he drove away, his heart heavy and his vision blurring.

X.x.x.x.

"How was the date?" Rose asked over the phone.

Rey sighed and plopped down on her bed. "Not good."

"Why?"

"He took me to this super fancy restaurant."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, I guess. I just," she paused trying to find the right words. "I felt so out of place. The food there was so expensive."

"He's loaded, you shouldn't worry about how much he spent."

Rey groaned. "That's not the point, Rose."

"Then what is?"

"It's like you said before; we're complete opposites. We're from totally different worlds."

"Sorry, Rey."

"I'm not too worried about it. I was skeptical in the first place."

"But you still went. You have to be a little bummed. This is the first date you've been on since I've known you, so there had to be some attraction there."

Rey was silent.

"Rey? You still there?"

"Yeah." She was grateful her friend couldn't see her right now. She was sure the look on her face was a mixture of relief and hurt. "Ben is nice looking and all but . . ."

"Did you just say he was nice looking?"

Rey could tell Rose was going crazy on the other side of the phone.

"Of course, that's what you would hone in on." Rey couldn't help but laugh a little.

"It wasn't that long ago you thought I was crazy for saying the same thing, so you can't blame me."

Rey laughed. "Okay, he's good looking when he's not trying to act all cool. When he's alone with me he looks different somehow, I can't explain it. And his eyes," she paused, "sometimes he looks so sad."

"You're falling for him, aren't you?"

"Of course not," Rey replied quickly. "I just don't hate him as much as I used to."

"You sure about that?"

"We're total opposites, like dark and light."

"And you can't have one without the other."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know, Rey." Rose paused on the other end of the line. "I can't help but think you two are meant to be together."

"And I think you're crazy. We are way too different. I was so uncomfortable tonight, Rose. He's used to that, I'm not. He has all this money at his disposal and I can barely buy food every month. He throws money in every direction trying to buy people's affections and I budget every last cent and keep few people close to my heart. He couldn't live in my world any more than I could live in his."

"What you're failing to see is, he could take care of you." Rose was trying so hard to talk her into giving Ben another chance.

"I don't need someone to take care of me. _I've_ been taking care of me for as long as I can remember. I will not rely on someone else."

Rose groaned into the phone. "You're hopeless."

"And you're a hopeless romantic. Look, I've got to work early tomorrow. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, good night."

"Night." Rey hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed beside her, then got up and prepared for bed.


	4. Kiss

**Kiss**

The way Ben looked at her Monday at school made Rey's heart sink.

"Kylo, my man," Poe said excitedly as he sat next to him in the cafeteria during lunch. "How was your date?"

Ben grimaced. "I thought it went fine, but she doesn't want to go out with me again."

"Ouch, man." Poe slapped him on the back reassuringly.

"You're friends with her. Can you talk her into giving me another chance?" Ben asked.

"No can do. When Rey makes up her mind about something it's pretty final." His eyes wandered over to the slender girl.

Ben sighed and followed his gaze, surprised to see her looking at him.

"She's the girl, isn't she?" Poe queried.

"What do you mean?" His eyes met Rey's and she quickly looked away.

"She's the one you told me about before. The one you said you'd fallen for?" Poe looked at the quarterback.

Ben looked back at his teammate. "I forgot I told you that."

"I knew it." Poe grinned. "Alright, tell me what you did on your date."

"I took her to my parents' restaurant."

Poe's eyes went wide. "That's where you went wrong."

"It's one of the fanciest places in town. I wanted to treat her," Ben told him. "I don't see what's wrong with that."

Poe shook his head. "You don't really know her at all, do you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Why do you want her? Why her? She is the only girl not fawning all over you, and you know she's not going to hop into bed with you. So, what is it about her you like so much? Is it the chase?" Poe asked.

"I don't know," Ben replied honestly. "Maybe it is the fact that she isn't after my money or my dick. Maybe it's the fact that she's the only girl who has turned me down for a date. Or maybe it's the fire in her eyes when she looks at me. Or the way she is kind to everyone and stands up for those weaker than her.

"Maybe it's the way her body moves when she's fighting, or the way her hair shines in the sun. Maybe it's because deep down I think she's lonely, and even though she acts tough she's really just afraid, and sad."

"Wow," Poe breathed.

"Help me," Ben pleaded.

"Look," Poe said finally. "Rey is a simple girl. She lives a simple life with simple things. She lives by humble means. I'm pretty sure she only owns like ten shirts and three pairs of pants. What I'm trying to say is, she's not the kind of girl you can impress with money. She's taken care of herself for a very long time, and she's comfortable with that fact.

"She doesn't let people in easily, but when she does, she cares for them deeply.

"She has no family, and she's gone from house to house most of her life. She's lived on her own since she was 16. She's very guarded and even though she doesn't show it, she's very self-conscious.

"You made her more self-conscious by taking her to a super fancy restaurant. I'm sure she was very uncomfortable.

"You're used to things like that, and I'm sure you thought you were doing her a favor, but for her it was torture. And if I know Rey, the only thing she saw was how different you two are.

"You have everything she doesn't: money, a family, a nice car, a huge house with maids and a chef, and more popularity than you know what to do with. You're confident, and sometimes an asshole." Poe stopped and looked at his friend. "Do you see what I'm saying?"

"So, what do I do?" Ben asked.

Poe laughed. "How are you so clueless even though you've slept with nearly every girl at this school?"

"Seduction I can do. But it's different with her. I want to get to know her the way you do. How can I do that?" Ben told him.

"You need to apologize first."

Ben's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Poe shook his head. "Because you did her wrong! You made her feel uncomfortable. If you want this girl, really want her, you need to change, man. Show her you can be humble and recognize when you're wrong. If you want her to take down her walls and let you in, you have to take yours down first."

Ben groaned.

"I never said it would be easy. Apologize, then ask to take her out again, and keep it simple this time. A walk in the park or something, maybe ask her what she wants to do. If she says no don't push it. Wait and maybe she'll come around." Poe clapped him on the back.

"What if she doesn't," Ben questioned, "come around?"

"Then maybe she's not the girl for you, or maybe it's not the right time." The bell rang and Poe stood up.

"Thanks, Dameron," Ben said genuinely.

"Anytime, Solo. Good luck!"

X.x.x.x

"Rey."

She heard her name but continued walking.

"Rey, wait," Ben called again.

She still didn't stop.

Ben groaned inwardly and ran to catch up with her. With his long legs it wasn't long before he was in front of her, making her stop so she wouldn't run into him.

"Rey," he repeated.

The small girl sighed and looked up at him, clearly annoyed. "What, Ben?"

"Can we talk?" He asked.

"I have to catch the bus, I don't want to be late." She took a step sideways and tried to start walking again, only to have him counter her move.

"Wait, Rey, please. I can take you to my uncle's studio." His eyes were pleading.

She straightened her stance and folded her arms. "Fine, talk."

"Look," he said nervously. "I'm sorry."

Her gaze softened, but she still didn't talk.

"I wasn't thinking when I decided to take you to that restaurant. I realize now how awkward that must have been for you."

"You realized, or Poe told you?" She spat.

"Dameron helped," Ben admitted. "But I really am sorry. Let me make it up to you."

She shook her head. "You can make it up to me by taking me to Luke's and then leaving me alone."

"Rey, please." His hand reached forward to touch her shoulder, but she swiped it away.

"Ben, I told you; we are just too different, this, whatever this is, would never work." She sighed and relaxed a little. "I thought maybe you were different, that maybe," she stopped and looked up at him.

"Maybe, what?"

"Nothing, never mind." Her eyes looked him up and down. "Can we go, please? I don't want to be late."

"You won't be late if I'm driving you. The bus takes much longer."

She groaned. "Ben, I don't want to do this right now, can we please go?"

"Rey, please," he begged again. "I want to take you out again, it can be anything, you name it."

She looked into his large brown eyes, dripping with regret and something else. "It's true then, isn't it?" She wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"What?" He was genuinely curious.

"Poe seems to think you're in love with me. I think he's crazy, you don't even know me." Her eyes bore into his.

Ben's eyes went wide for a moment before he regained his composure, but he knew she saw. "You're right, I don't know you. That's why I want to date you."

"Ben." She exhaled loudly. "I appreciate your apology, but the answer is still no, I'm sorry."

He wanted to argue, but Poe's words echoed in his head, 'if she says no don't push it. Wait and maybe she'll come around.'

"Okay," his words came out quietly. "I'll get you to my uncle's."

X.x.

"You're early," Luke said as she walked through the door. "Oh, Ben is here too."

"He was nice enough to give me a ride," Rey explained.

"That works out perfectly," Luke replied. "Ben, do you have plans tonight?"

The boy looked confused. "No, why?"

"Good, can you stay and practice with Rey?" Luke stood slowly from the seat he was in. "I tweaked my back the other day and I don't think I can keep up with Rey today."

"It's fine master Luke, I can practice on my own," she began.

"I'll stay," Ben's deep voice replied.

Rey shot daggers at him with her eyes. "I don't need you."

"My uncle is asking for some help, it's the least I can do." Ben smirked at her.

"Fine!" Rey stomped off to the bathroom to get changed.

"What's that all about?" Luke asked his nephew.

"She isn't happy with me right now," was Ben's response.

"I can tell." Luke smiled before turning very serious. "You're my nephew and I love you, but Rey is sweet and innocent, if you do anything to hurt her, I will personally come after you."

Ben's eyes went wide. "What do you think I'm gonna do? We went on one date and she hated it. I asked her out again and she said no. She's mad because I keep pushing it." His hands were up by his chest in a show of innocence.

"Oh." Luke smiled again. "Okay, good." He placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Be patient, she'll come around." Another smile, but this one was more devious. "And be careful today. She'll not hold back." With that he walked away.

When Rey emerged, Ben switched her spots to change.

She sat on the ground and began to stretch.

"Don't beat him up too much today, Rey," Luke said from behind the front desk. "I don't need Leia calling me and chewing me out."

When Ben finally joined Rey on the floor to stretch, Luke couldn't help but notice the way his nephew kept stealing glances at the girl.

"Do you have work tonight, Rey?" Luke asked once they were done stretching.

"No," she replied.

"I have a women's self-defense class after this, do you think you'd be able to stay and help me out? I'll pay you for it," Luke offered.

"I'll help, but you don't have to pay me," she responded.

"Ben, can you help out too?" Luke asked.

Ben's eyes flicked to Rey before going back to his uncle's. "Yeah." Then it hit him. "You're gonna have Rey throw me around, aren't you?"

Luke's evil grin returned. "She's small, you're not. If these women can see how easy it is for Rey to throw you around, they'll feel much more confident in what they're learning."

"I'm okay with that," Rey agreed, a smirk on her face as well.

"Awesome. Okay you two, get back to training."

The two teenagers faced each other on the mat and bowed. They each adopted their fighting stances and stared at each other for a moment.

Rey was the first to move, kicking Ben in the chest full force and sending him stumbling back. He regained his poise quickly and blocked the punches flying his way.

As they fought, Rey couldn't help but notice how smooth Ben's movements were; the way he easily transitioned from blocking to attacking, the way his hair flew around his face, and those muscles! Her mind wandered momentarily, wondering what it would be like to have those arms wrapped around her, that hair in her hands, and that body . . .

A kick to the side ripped her thoughts back to the fight. What was she doing? Anger bubbled inside her; anger at herself for the thoughts she had just been having, and she unleashed that anger on Ben.

Her movements were so fast Ben could only defend himself, and he soon found his back against the wall.

The only way he could get out was by ducking and sweeping her feet out from under her. She fell back on the mat and rolled away, quickly getting to her feet.

"Your anger is getting the best of you, Rey," Luke commented. "Don't let it cloud your judgement."

Rey nodded once acknowledging her master. She stood still for a moment, her eyes never leaving her opponent.

Ben's chest was heaving, and sweat had begun to accumulate on his forehead. He looked into her eyes for a moment and saw the confliction residing there. Her eyes flashed between anger and, was that desire? 'No way,' he thought, 'she made it very clear she wants nothing to do with me.'

'Stop it, Rey,' she told herself. 'You can't think like that. He is too different, you would never be happy with him. He is too different, and you hate him.' She took a deep breath and watched as a bead of sweat trickled down his chest. 'But God, he his gorgeous.'

Ben smiled. "What's the matter, Rey?" He was teasing her, his voice low and seductive.

"Don't," she growled. She dashed toward him, only to have him grab her by the arms and pin her to his chest.

She shivered as his breath hit her bare neck. "You seem conflicted."

Her only answer was to flip him over her head into his back. "Don't pretend to know what I'm thinking."

Her foot was at his throat, and he grabbed it sending her to the ground beside him. He quickly rolled over and pinned her hands over her head.

She used all her strength, and fought to free herself for about five minutes before finally giving up, letting her body go limp beneath him.

He had been straining to keep her pinned, and when she finally relaxed, he loosened his grip on her wrists.

Both were panting, Ben giving no sign of removing himself from her.

Luke watched as Rey's eyes flicked between Ben's lips and eyes, and Ben's eyes fixated on Rey's lips. The black-haired boy licked his lips slightly, completely unaware of the act.

'Kiss her,' Luke encouraged silently. 'C'mon Ben.' Luke was no fool; he knew how much his nephew cared for the girl, and despite all her protesting, Rey had begun to like Ben as well. They were both just too stubborn to admit it, Rey more than Ben.

In all the years Luke had trained the small girl, she never once talked about a boy. And when she talked about Ben, something in Luke's mind sparked, and he knew they would end up together. Maybe not now, but something told the old man, they were meant to be.

Luke held his breath as Ben started to lean down, shortening the distance between the two teens.

Rey's heart began to pound as Ben grew closer to her. They had been here before; about to kiss, and she'd panicked the first time. She wanted it then, and she wanted it now.

Her eyes closed as his lips were about to meet hers.

The phone rang then, and all three people in the studio jumped.

Luke let out the breath he had been holding and answered the phone quickly.

Suddenly aware of their surroundings, and Luke sitting behind the desk, Rey and Ben both blushed and Ben swiftly got to his feet offering Rey a hand to help her up as well.

When Luke hung up the phone, he looked at the two standing awkwardly away from each other. "Go clean up a little, the other class should be arriving soon."

They both nodded and grabbed a towel to wipe their faces and necks.

The self-defense class was hard, to say the least. Luke kept having Ben grab her in all sorts of positions, to have her show the best way to get out. Sometimes her mentor took his sweet time explaining how to get out.

Ben was so close to her during most of the class. When trying to show how to get out of being choked from behind, Ben's large arms wrapped around her from behind. Both her hands were on his.

As Luke explained the method for getting out of this predicament, Rey could feel her pulse quickening. His mouth was right next to her ear and she could hear every rapid breath.

'I never should have agreed to this,' Ben thought to himself as he felt Rey's pulse on his arm. Her scent was intoxicating to him, and the goosebumps running down her arms did not help his self-control.

The way they were standing made it so the class couldn't see his face, and he took advantage of it while his uncle talked.

It took every ounce of strength Rey had to stand still as Ben slowly moved his head closer to hers. A puff of air hit her ear and chills ran down her body again.

"Rey," Ben whispered almost inaudibly. "You smell amazing." His large nose nestled behind her ear and took a deep breath.

Her entire body reacted, and she hated herself for how turned on she was at that moment. A cold shower would be in order when she finally made it home.

"Okay, Rey," Luke said, indicating for her to break out of Ben's hold. She stood there for a moment. "Rey."

Recognizing her name, Rey snapped out of her thoughts and quickly executed the steps to free herself, grateful to be away from Ben.

When class finally ended and all the students left, Rey quickly ducked into the bathroom to change and throw some cold water on her face.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Ben asked his uncle while Rey was gone.

"No, actually, I didn't, but it worked out quite well for all of us." Luke smiled at his nephew. "Thanks for helping me out today, Ben." He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder for a moment and walked away.

Rey walked out of the bathroom in her street clothes.

"I'll take you home if you want," Ben offered.

She nodded and Ben smiled before going into change.

"It's okay, Rey," Luke told her from behind the desk. "To let people in."

Rey looked at her master.

"Ben may seem like a hard ass, but he's a good kid," Luke continued. "Your actions today prove there is an attraction. It's okay to let him in."

"You don't understand, master. Every time I open up and let someone in, if I get close to them, I'm the one who gets hurt." She folded her arms on the desk. "I'm not willing to do that again. I'm done being hurt."

"I won't hurt you," Ben interrupted.

"That's what they all say," Rey replied.

Ben was now right next to her, and she looked up at him. "Ben."

"Rey," his voice was soft. His hands moved up to cup her face.

Her hands traveled up to his and removed them from her face. She didn't say anything as she moved to grab her bag. "Can we go, please?"

Ben nodded. "See you later, Uncle Luke."

They walked to the car and got in. "Can I buy you dinner?"

"Ben, we've been through this," Rey began.

"Not a date," Ben defended. "Just as friends. We both need to eat and it's late."

She thought for a moment. "Okay."

"Where would you like to go?" He turned the key.

"There's this little Chinese place I've been wanting to try," Rey suggested. "It's close to my work."

Ben nodded, and started to drive. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What happened to you?"

She looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you so guarded?"

She scoffed. "Seriously?"

"You said I didn't know you, I'm trying to get to know you."

She contemplated his question for a moment. "What do you know about me?"

"I know you were a foster kid till you were 16 and finally started living on your own. I know you started training with my uncle about four years ago." He glanced at her quickly. "I also know you are the most selfless person I've ever met, and the most stubborn."

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" She giggled.

"I know I'm gorgeous," he replied running a hand through his hair for added affect.

She laughed, and Ben nearly swooned at the sound. Never had he heard her laugh like that. Sure, he'd heard her laugh with her friends, but this was different, she was laughing with him, and it was beautiful.

She sighed and looked at Ben, a smile still on her face. The street lights illuminated his face as she examined his profile. His nose was a little big for his face, but everything else about his seemed perfect. His lips were full and his hair perfect, and those eyes, surrounded by luscious lashes could captivate her for hours.

He glanced over at her for a moment causing her to blush.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," she responded quietly.

What was it about this boy that intrigued her so? As much as she tried to convince herself they would never work, there was something about him that drew her to him. Some kind of force that told her to open up and let him in; that he was the one for her, despite all their differences.

She was only human, she wanted someone to love, someone who would love her. But she was scared, so very much so. Her past had taught her that life only gave her things to rip it away again.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't realize they had reached their destination until Ben turned the car off.

"Ready?" He smiled at her.

"Yeah."

She was grateful he hadn't pushed her for an answer during their drive. He'd let her think.

When they finally sat down, she looked at him and their eyes met. She could see the respect he had for her, but she could also see sadness and loneliness.

"Do you really want to know?" She finally questioned.

"What?" He wasn't sure what she was referring to.

"Why I'm so guarded. About my past?"

He nodded. "I want to know everything about you. What you like, what you don't like. What makes you happy and what makes you sad. How you like to be kissed, and touched. I want to know what you're thinking by simply looking at you. I want to know what I need to do to be the person you run to and confide in. I want to know what makes you tick."

She blushed again. "I was abandoned by my parents when I was five. I don't remember much about them, but I remember being hurt and angry as I watched them drive away without so much as an 'I love you' or a 'you'll be okay.'

"It affected me so much; I was a very angry child. I went from foster home to foster home for five years when I finally ended up with this man named Ben Kenobi. He was the first one to recognize my anger and find an outlet for me. That's when I was first introduced to martial arts. He taught me and even had a small gym in his garage.

"For the first time I started to feel better and was happy with my life. He even talked about adopting me. But I should have known it was too good to be true. He left for work one day and ended up in a terrible car accident, that ultimately killed him.

"I was devastated and ended up back in the home." She stopped to take a drink. "When I got back to the home, I was a teenager, and it's really hard to get adopted when you're older.

"I was fostered by a family who had a boy around my age when I was fourteen. He was sweet and kind and he made me happy. Even though we shared a house his parents were okay with us dating.

"Things we're going great until I started telling him no about sex. He pushed and pressured me all the time, trying to get me to give in, but when I didn't, he tried to rape me. I ended up beating him up and running to the police station. There was enough evidence that I didn't get into too much trouble, but the family was pissed and I wound up back in the home.

"I haven't dated anyone since then." She stopped and looked at Ben again. "After that I got odd jobs until they hired me at The Force and I was able to get my own place when I was 16. The rest you already know."

Ben looked at her in shock for a moment. Their food had arrived during Rey's story.

"Rey, I'm so sorry, I had no idea." He took a bite of food.

"I haven't told many people about my past, so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourself. And don't feel sorry for me. I didn't tell you that so you'd pity me." Rey began to eat.

Silence fell as they both ate.

"You're much stronger than I originally gave you credit for," Ben said as they exited the restaurant.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rey asked, almost offended.

"I didn't mean anything bad, I just mean," they stopped at his car and she turned to look up at him. "I've always thought you were a strong woman, I just never realized how strong you really are." He took a step toward her unconsciously. "You've been through so much, and yet, you're still the kindest person I know." His palm landed on his car next to her face. "You truly are amazing, Rey."

He was getting closer to her and she looked away. "I'm really not."

His other hand grabbed her chin to make her look up at him. "You are." He leaned in, stopping only inches away from her lips. His eyes locked onto hers.

He was waiting for her. She could either close the distance between their lips or she could tell him no. To his relief, her lips meet his, and her eyes closed.

Time stood still as he kissed her. It was a chaste kiss that lasted only seconds, but when he pulled away, the look in her eyes fueled him and he cupped her face again, pulling her into a more passionate kiss.

Rey's knees nearly buckled under the passion, and she was thankful for the vehicle behind her.

When they finally parted, Rey's eyes remained closed for a moment, only to open when Ben's forehead met hers.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," he whispered.

She didn't reply, so he stepped away and opened the car door for her.

"Ben," she said when he finally got into the car. "Why are you so lonely?"

The question caught him off guard. "What?"

"When I look into your eyes, they always look so sad, and lonely. Why?" She looked over at him. His eyes were wide. "Sorry," she said quickly. "You don't have to tell me."

The car sputtered to life and Ben began to drive. He was quiet for a while. He felt he had no reason to vent to this girl who had it so much harder than he did. But she had just told him her whole life story.

"Because I am," he eventually responded. A scoff left his lips. "This may seem stupid to you; I have a family and friends, but I've never really been able to connect with people." He stole a glance in her direction. "My mother is a big-time lawyer, and my father runs a huge trading company. They make a lot of money, but they're never home.

"People usually only want me for my parents' money, and I have trust issues because of that. I have all the money anyone could ever ask for, but money can't buy happiness. Everyone has a hard time believing that, and because of that, I have no close friends." He stopped at a red light and looked over at her. "I'm sure this sounds ridiculous to you, but I can be surrounded by people and still feel alone. I have everything you could ever ask for and it's not enough." The light turned green and he began driving again. "I'm sure you don't want to hear this."

"I understand," she told him. "I've felt the same way, being surrounded by bodies and still feeling alone. I don't understand the money thing, and maybe I never will. But loneliness is loneliness no matter what your life is like."

"Rey?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for validating my feelings. I'm usually told I'm crazy, and I have no reason to feel the way I do."

"You're welcome."

They pulled up to her apartment.

"Rey?"

"Yes, Ben?" She turned to look at him.

"What does all this mean? For us?" His eyes were hopeful.

She took a deep breath. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "I'm not ready for anything super serious, but I think I'd be okay for another date."

A grin adorned his face. "Can we go to the movies this weekend?"

"That didn't take long," she giggled. "But yes, I think we could manage that." She moved to get out of the car and stopped.

What she did next surprised the black-haired boy. She leaned over the seat and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Thanks for dinner," she said softly before exiting the car and going home.


	5. Confessions

Note from me: This chapter contains some adult content, don't like it, don't read it, you can skip it and continued the story.

Goahun

 **Confessions**

"You should try out for the cheerleading squad," Rose told Rey one day at lunch.

"And become one of Phasma's troopers? No thanks," Rey declined. "Where did that come from anyway?"

"I don't know. You're thin and athletic, and it would give you an excuse to hang out with Ben more without raising suspicion," Rose explained.

Rose was the only person Rey had told about everything that had happened between her and Ben.

They had been going out a lot over the past few months, and the relationship had evolved a little. But they had agreed not to make anything public until Rey was sure how she really felt about the whole situation. It had been Ben who suggested it, knowing she would get a lot of flak from other girls if they made it public, and the last thing he wanted was to scare her away.

"I'm not that desperate to hang out with him, besides, I don't have the time or money to do that. Between work and training I rarely have any free time. Besides, Phasma is not the kind of person I want to be around more than I have to." Rey shook her head.

Almost as if on cue, Phasma walked over to Ben at the jock table.

She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and leaned over him.

Jealousy bubbled up inside Rey as she watched the interaction from afar.

It was no secret that Phasma wanted the tall boy. They'd had an on and off relationship for years, and though Ben had turned her down many times, it didn't stop her from flirting with him on multiple occasions.

She watched as Ben removed her hands from around his neck and turned to look at the girl. She sat down in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck again, leaning in to whisper something in his ear.

Ben's face went red but he shook his head and pushed her off his lap. He stood and walked out of the cafeteria, Phasma hot on his heels, taking to him the entire time.

"Breathe, Rey," Rose said.

Rey released the breath she had been holding and smiled at her friend. "Sorry."

"For not being in a serious relationship, you sure are possessive," Rose pointed out. "You know, technically he's still free to do what he wants, you're not going steady or anything."

Rey paled for a moment then came back to her senses. "Steady or not, he's faithful to me, I know he is."

X .x.x.x

"What did Phasma want earlier today?" Rey asked Ben as they cuddled on her bed watching a movie.

It was late, but ever since Ben had found out she had been taking a cab home from work every night, he'd been picking her up from work. Some nights he just dropped her off, but other nights, like tonight, he joined her while she wound down for the night.

"Nothing important," he replied.

"It didn't look like nothing. She made you blush, Ben." She positioned herself so she could look at him better from where he lay behind her.

"Is it really that important?" His eyes were almost pleading.

"Yes. If you want me to trust you, you have to tell me things."

"She was whispering naughty things in my ear," he told her. "Trying to get me to slip away with her."

"Why?" Rey was very naïve when it came to some things.

"We had a very physical relationship. There were a lot of times we would sneak into a bathroom and fuck in the stalls, or out to the field, sometimes we'd go to her place or mine. When I was with Phasma, I had to have a box of rubbers on me at all times."

"Oh." Rey's face was bright red. "But you didn't today, right? I saw you leave and she went after you, but you didn't hook up with her, did you?"

Ben laughed. "No. I may be a player when I'm single, but when I'm with someone, I'm very faithful." He kissed her forehead. "You have nothing to worry about, Rey."

"How long has it been?" Rey queried. "Since you last slept with someone?"

Ben thought for a moment. "About eight months."

"But we've only been dating for four," she pointed out.

"I've known I wanted you for a lot longer, Rey. I'm waiting for you."

She blushed. "Ben, I. . ." Her words failed her.

"No pressure," he spoke swiftly. "I'm perfectly fine doing things like this." He pulled her closer and tightened his arms around her.

"Thank you." She whispered.

They continued to watch the movie.

When Rey's alarm went off the next morning, she was surprised to find Ben still cuddled next to her.

His eyes fluttered open, and he smiled when he saw her.

"We must have fallen asleep during the movie," she surmised. She rolled over to kiss him, and was shocked when she felt something poking her. "What is that?" Her hand reached down to find the obstruction before Ben could stop her, and a small hiss left his lips when her hand gently brushed over the top of his erection.

Her eyes went wide and she swiftly removed her hand. "I'm so sorry."

Ben laughed lightly. "You really are clueless, aren't you?"

She blushed. "Ben, if you haven't already figured it out, I'm a virgin. I've never done anything with a man. Made out yes, but I've never even seen," she didn't say the word, she simply nodded down ward. "I know how everything is supposed to work, I've just never done it." Her eyes met his. "But how are you so hard when we haven't been doing anything?"

He laughed again. "It's just something that happens to guys. I was actually having a very nice dream." He moved his body to lean over her.

Her eyes went wide when she finally realized what he was talking about. "Oh."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her; it was meant to be a chaste kiss, but it evolved quickly, their tongues soon dancing with each other.

His hands traveled down her shirt to slide under it, but she stopped him. "Ben," she breathed. "I'm not ready."

He nodded and kissed her again softly before flopping down on the bed beside her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just want my first time to be special. I want it to be with someone I love. I like you Ben, but I don't feel that strongly yet."

"It's okay. I told you I wouldn't pressure you, and I mean it. I may be super frustrated and about to die right now, but I'll live." He looked over at her clock for the first time. "It's only 6:30? School doesn't start till 8:45, why are you up so early?"

"I have to take the bus, it takes a while to get there. What time do you wake up?"

"Like 8:15."

She laughed. "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Well, you don't have to take the bus today, so come here and lay with me for a while." He held his arms wide for her and she happily laid on his chest. They were quiet for a moment, but Rey was curious and her eyes kept wandering to the tent in her bed.

"Ben?"

"Hm?"

She turned to look at his face. "Can I . . ." she blushed. "you know." Her eyes darted down to his private.

"I'm not about to tell you no, but only if you really want to." His eyes went dark with desire.

"I've never seen one in real life, and I've never touched one. Will you let me know what to do?" She was hesitant and firm at the same time and Ben's heart fluttered. She was too good for him, and God if she didn't make him fall in love with her every single day.

He nodded and his breath caught as her hands traveled down to his waist line. Her hands were trembling as she slipped under the band of his sweats.

Slowly, her fingers brushed over the hardened member causing Ben to moan slightly. Lifting his hips, he pushed his pants and boxers down, allowing his penis to pop free.

Rey gasped when she finally saw it. He was huge, or at least from what she knew. How was that thing supposed to fit inside her when the time came?

Her hand stopped moving so Ben reached down and started stroking it himself. Determined to hear more delighted sounds come from him, she replaced his hand with hers and began to copy the movement.

"You can grip it harder," Ben told her. "It's not going to break."

She nodded and tightened her grip.

"Not that hard," he winced. "Like a sturdy handshake."

"Sorry." She blushed. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"It's okay, Rey, you're doing fine." He moaned as she found the right amount of pressure and began moving her hand faster. His eyes closed as she continued to stroke him. "God, Rey."

She moved to kiss him hungrily. His moans we're turning her on and, in that moment, she almost wanted him to take her.

Instead she moved down and flicked her tongue over his head. His eyes shot open and he looked down at her, his eyes thick with desire.

Unsure of what she was doing, she licked him again. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah," he breathed.

She licked him more and finally took him in her mouth causing him to moan even louder. Her hand moved down to the base of his cock and began to move in sync with her mouth, which sucked and bobbed up and down. Her tongue rolled around him as she sucked and he cussed.

As she sucked him, one hand traveled down to bunch in her hair as the other gripped the sheets around him tightly.

His sounds became louder, only spurring her on, and she began to move faster.

"Rey, I'm gonna come," he warned her. He had expected her to stop, but she continued her administrations. "Rey," he warned her again.

She stopped only for a second. "Come for me, Ben." Her mouth engulfed him again.

His breathing became rapid as he realized she intended to drink him, and the very thought was enough to send him over the edge. He cried out, both his hands bunching into what they were holding.

Rey swallowed every last bit of his seed, only stopping when Ben's body finally relaxed beneath her. Pulling away from him she wiped her face.

"God, Rey, you're so sexy," he growled.

She crawled up his body to kiss him again. He could taste himself on her and he loved it. He flipped them over and kissed her more fervently.

"For someone who's never done that, you certainly did a fantastic job," he admitted. "Can I return the favor?"

She shook her head.

"I'm not taking about sex, I can use my mouth too." He waggled his brows at her.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not comfortable enough with my body to be okay with that. I'm going to go take a very cold shower and get dressed."

He kissed her. "Your body is beautiful, Rey. Are you sure you want to turn me down?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Get ready for the day." She got out of bed and headed to the shower.

When she finally exited the bathroom ready for the day, she looked at the boy laying in her bed in clean clothes.

"How did you get different clothes?" She questioned.

"I always keep a spare set in my car, just in case," he explained.

"Ben?" She walked over to him and sat down.

"I want to go steady. I want to be your girlfriend, and I don't want to have to hide it at school anymore."

"I'm totally cool with that. What made you change your mind?"

"Aside from sucking your dick just now?" She laughed. "I got super jealous when I saw you with Phasma yesterday, and while I know it won't stop other girls from flirting with you, I feel like, if they knew about us it would deter some of them a little bit."

"I'm faithful to you either way. But I wouldn't argue with being able to kiss you and hang out with you at school." He leaned over and kissed her softly.

X.x.x

"Are you sure about this?" Ben asked once more as they pulled up to the school.

Her heart was pounding, but she nodded. "I'm ready."

They got out of the car and Ben offered her a hand, she took it and they began to walk towards the building hand-in-hand.

Almost instantly whisper's and glances followed them. Ben took her to her locker and waited as she got her books.

"Pay them no mind, Rey." He ran his fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ear.

"I'm no stranger to the whisper's in the hall," Rey told him. "I'm a foster kid, they don't bother me anymore." She smiled at him and knowing full well they had an audience, she leaned up and kissed him lightly.

"You are amazing."

X.x.x.x

A few more months passed, and Ben and Rey got closer, spending as much time together as they could.

"Rey," he said one day. "I want to take you to prom."

She blushed. It didn't matter how much he doted on her, she never got used to it. The longer they dated the more insecure she got.

Things were going way too well, and it was time for life to screw her over. She was happy for the first time in a long time, and whenever that happened something always went wrong.

The whisper's in the hall still continued, and they were starting to get to her.

"He's too good for her."

"They'll never last."

"She's just using him for his money."

"He'll get tired of her soon. He's too much of a player to settle down."

"Who does she think she is? She's a nobody, she doesn't deserve him."

All these things and more flew around her all day long. She figured they would die down after a few weeks, but they hadn't.

"I can't," she replied.

"Why not?" They were sitting together at lunch, and his hand grabbed hers.

"Ben, there's no way I can afford anything I'll need." She looked at him. "With you picking me up every night after work I'm saving a little money, but it's not enough."

"Let me get you a dress. I'll even pay for a salon day, so you can get your hair and nails done," he offered.

"Ben," she looked him in the eyes. "I already feel like I'm taking advantage of you. I can't let you do that."

"You're not taking advantage," he scolded. "I want to take you, and I want you to have the most amazing dress." She looked away and her cupped her chin, making her look up at him again. "I'm up for prom king, and from what I understand, you're up for prom queen. I can't be there without my queen." He kissed her softly. "Besides, it's our senior year, you deserve to go to prom."

"C'mon Rey," Rose piped up. "It won't be the same without you."

"Yeah," Finn echoed. "You have to come."

Rey looked from her boyfriend to her friends. "Okay."

Ben kissed her happily. "You're off tonight, so we can go look for a dress tonight if you want to."

She nodded.

"Yay!" Rose exclaimed.

"Glad you're coming," Finn added. "It'll be fun!"

"Meet me outside by the flag pole after school. I intend to pamper you today "He kissed her again.

After school Rey went to go meet Ben when she was surrounded by a bunch of the guys from the football team.

A tall red-haired boy walked up to her.

"Hux." She practically hissed his name.

"Jedi," Hux sneered. "I heard you're going to prom with Kylo."

"What's it to you?" Rey growled.

"We've decided it's not good for our leader to be seen with you. He will be going with Phasma. They are better suited for each other and the perfect Prom Royalty," Hux told her.

"I will not be bullied by you," Rey barked.

They all stepped closer to her.

"I'm not scared of you," she told them. "Any of you. You want to fight, I will take you all on."

"We're not here to fight you," Hux stated. "We know we can't win against you."

"Then what do you want?" Her eyes narrowed.

"We want you to break up with Kylo," Hux replied.

"I'm not breaking up with, Ben." She emphasized his name.

"You're nothing, no one, you don't belong by his side." Hux stepped closer to her, and his voice was low. "You're nothing but scum. Kylo deserves the best, and no matter how much you deny it, you know I'm right."

His words cut deep, and when she didn't reply he stepped back and laughed.

"You know the truth, Jedi."

"Stop calling me that."

Hux smirked. "Kylo will betray you. He's never been with one woman for a long amount of time. If you fall for him, he will break your heart. Do yourself a favor and leave him." With a flick of his wrist the football team dispersed.

She fought back the tears as he walked away, and turned to find Ben.

When she reached the flag pole, he was nowhere to be seen so she walked around looking for him.

"She's a nobody," Phasma's voice hit her ears. "Go to prom with me, Kylo."

Rey heard Ben's low voice but couldn't make out what he said. As she rounded the corner Phasma leaned forward and kissed him.

When Ben didn't push her away tears began to fall from Rey's eyes.

Phasma pulled away from him and her eyes fell on the small girl at the corner of the building.

Ben turned and looked just in time to see the girl he loved

turn and run away.

"Rey!" He called out for her. Dismissing the girl in front of him he ran after Rey.

She ran around the large building only to duck inside a side door, finally ending up in the abandoned gym. She headed for the darkest corner.

"Rey," Ben said again, softer this time.

"Go away!" she yelled. It echoed slightly.

"Wait it's not what it looks like," he begged.

Rey whirled around to face him, and his heart broke when he saw the tears.

"I know she kissed you, but I also know you didn't push her away." Rey turned to walk away again but stopped. "We're done Ben."

"No," Ben's voice was sad. "Rey."

"Go to prom with Phasma, it's what everyone wants." Her footsteps echoed as she continued to walk towards the dark corner.

"It's not what I want," Ben said following her. "I want you, Rey, I don't care what anyone else wants or says. You are the only one for me."

"Why me, Ben?" She cried. "I was fine being alone until you happened." Her hands flew to her face and through her hair. "I was always alone."

"You're not alone," he replied softly, stepping closer to her.

"They're right, I am nothing, have always been nothing! No one ever loved me, not even my own parents loved me enough to keep me." She backed away from him and her back hit the wall. "I can't give you anything!" She was practically screaming now. "I have nothing because I am nothing, don't you see that?"

"Rey," he whispered. "You're not nothing, not to me." His hand reached up to touch her cheek softly. "I don't need anything from you. I love you for you, don't you understand?" He moved closer still, stopping only a hair's breadth away from her. " _I_ love you. I always have, and _always_ will. You just have to let me." This was the first time he had actually said those three words to her.

Her body was shaking, but as she looked into his eyes, she knew everything he was saying to be true. He did love her. To him she was everything.

Tears were still running down her face, but in that moment all she could see was him.

This boy had turned her life upside down; had given her everything and never asked for anything in return. He had been patient and kind, and despite how hard she had tried to push him away, he was constant.

Ben Solo had somehow managed to work his way into her heart. The tears stopped as the seconds passed, their eyes still locked.

She loved him; as much as she had tried not to, as afraid as she had been to let someone in, she knew it was true. He had shattered her walls and walked right in.

"I love you," he said again.

As the words reached her ears, her arms flew around his neck and her lips crashed into his. This was where she belonged, right here, in this man's arms.

"I love you too, Ben," she whispered when they parted.

He smiled at her. "Now, let's go get you a prom dress worthy of a queen."


	6. Prom

**PROM**

Prom rolled around quickly, and Ben had set aside a whole spa day for Rey.

"You're going to get pampered, and I don't want you to argue with me," Ben had told her. "Go in at 11 am. It's my mom's salon, they'll take good care of you. I'll be picking you up around five, and we'll go to dinner with Finn and Rose then head to the Prom after."

Pampered was an understatement. He had scheduled her for a manicure, pedicure, acrylic nails, a facial, makeup session, deep condition for her hair, haircut and style.

While she sat getting her pedicure, her phone chimed.

'There is a box to your right, open it.' Rey smiled at the message from her boyfriend and looked beside her. At some point a small box had appeared beside her.

She opened it to find a Samsung Galaxy S7. She pulled it out of the box and found a note underneath it.

Ben's neat handwriting was apparent.

It's not brand new. I knew you wouldn't accept a brand-new phone, but since I upgraded mine to the newer version, I wanted you to have this one. It is activated already, once you turn it on it's been set to activate, and your old phone will be useless. No arguments, you are my queen and I will treat you as such.

I love you,

Ben

She turned the phone on, awed by the sleek design. She had been using the same Samsung gravity flip phone since she was 14. It was basic, but she could call and text people, and that was all she really needed.

When she turned it on, she was surprised to see her contacts already in the phone book, and her favorite picture of her and Ben set as the background.

It chimed and another text popped up.

'If you need anything else transferred from your old phone just let me know and we can do it later.'

'How long have you been working on this?'

'Not long. I have most of your contacts in my phone already anyway, so it wasn't hard.'

He sent her a kissy face emoji followed by 'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

X.x.

"Ben," Leia said to her son. "Are we finally going to meet this girlfriend of yours today?"

"Yeah," his father agreed. "You' be been dating her for a while now and you're taking her to prom. But somehow she hasn't ended up in your bed yet."

"Han!" Leia exclaimed.

"What? You know how our son is. You can't tell me you're not surprised too," Han responded.

Ben's phone chimed, and with an uncanny speed Han swiped the phone from his son and peered at the text. "I love you, too." He looked at his son. "What?"

"Give it back," Ben growled.

"Ben," Leia said softly. "Are you in love with this girl?" She looked over at her husband. "How did we miss this?"

"You're never home," Ben answered for him. "And, just in case you're wondering, which I know you are Dad, no, we haven't slept together."

Han's eyes went wide. "You've got it bad, haven't you kid?"

Ben sighed. "I love her. She wanted to wait, so I'm waiting."

"Who is this girl anyway?" Han asked.

"Her name is Rey," he told his parents.

"Rey? As in Luke's prodigy student?" Leia inquired.

"Yeah." Ben looked at his mother.

"Luke has told me all about her," Leia said. "I want to meet her."

"Is she coming here tonight?" Han asked.

"No, I'm gonna pick her up at the salon," Ben answered.

"Ben Solo!" His mother nearly screeched. "It's your senior prom and you weren't going to let us take pictures?"

Ben went red.

"What about her parents?" Han queried.

"She doesn't have any," both Leia and Ben told him.

"Oh." Han looked down at his hands.

"I want to meet this girl," Leia pointed out. "Go pick her up when she's ready and bring her here so we can do this the proper way."

"Mom," Ben groaned.

"This is not up for debate, Ben." Her voice was stern.

The boy groaned again. "Fine."

"Good." She smiled. "I'm glad you finally found someone."

Ben smiled. "Me too." He turned to his father. "She's very unsure of herself, please be nice to her."

Han laughed then nodded. "Okay."

X.x.x

Rey had never been so spoiled in all her life. Her feet and hands had never felt softer, and her nails never better looking.

Her face felt brand new, and as she sat under the dryer for her deep condition reading a book her mind wandered to the man making all this possible. As if on cue, her phone chimed.

'Look to your left.'

She looked to find another small box. She opened it to find a matching bracelet and necklace set with blue and white jewels.

Her fingers slid down the jewelry, and she had to fight back the tears.

Ben had put a lot of thought into this day. He'd even made sure they had some of Rey's favorite snacks available for her since she would be there so long.

'They're beautiful.'

'So, there's been a slight change of plans for tonight. My parents want to meet you, so I'll be picking you up when you're done and we're gonna come back to my house. We'll meet Finn and Rose later at the restaurant. Is that okay?'

Rey paled.

"Everything okay?" Her stylist, Melanie, asked. "Is the dryer getting too hot?"

"No," Rey replied. "My boyfriend just told me his parents want to meet me."

"Oh, you'll love the Solo's. They come in here all the time, they're great people. You'll like them," she assured the girl.

Rey smiled. "Thanks."

"You sure have a wonderful boyfriend. He wanted to make sure your day was perfect."

"He is wonderful." Rey's smile widened.

'Okay'

'Sorry it's so last minute. They nearly lost it when I told them you weren't coming over for pictures.'

'It's okay. I just hope they like me.'

'They'll love you, just like I do.' He sent another kissy face.

When the dryer stopped, they rinsed her hair and went back to the stylist chair to cut and style her hair, another smaller box lay on her station.

She looked at her stylist who giggled.

"That's the last one," she assured the girl.

Rey picked up the box and opened it. Inside was a pair of earrings that matched the necklace and bracelet she had gotten earlier.

"I've been doing Ben's hair since he was a child," Melanie told her. "Last time he came in I noticed something different about him. He was much happier, and more talkative than normal. I could tell something had happened.

"When he came in to set everything up for you, I knew you were what happened, and I was so excited to meet you.

"I had never seen him smile as much as I did when he was asking us to do everything for you. He's a sweet kid, and I'm glad he found some happiness."

Rey smiled. "Thank you."

Melanie cut all the dead ends off her hair and started on her style while another stylist came and worked on her makeup.

When she was finally done, Rey could barely recognize herself. She didn't look like a poor unkempt girl. She looked like a sophisticated woman.

Her hair had been curled and delicately placed in three buns on the back of her head, all twirling together almost seamlessly. A few curls had been left loose around her face and back of her neck. Small jewels had been placed strategically throughout.

"Go get your dress on," Melanie told her. "I'll call Ben and let him know you're done."

Rey walked into the bathroom to dress. Her dress was royal blue with white jewels all over it. Matching blue high heels adorned her feet. She placed the jewelry on and stared at herself.

She was different now; not just because of the fancy hair and makeup and clothes, but because she was happy. She was in love for the first time, and he truly cared for her. He had never made her feel poor, or orphaned. He loved her the way she was, and because of that, she loved herself as well.

She walked out of the bathroom and all eyes landed on her.

"Rey, you look beautiful!" Melanie exclaimed. She took the empty boxes from the girl and handed her a small clutch purse that matched her dress. She winked.

Rey fidgeted with her dress, and Melanie grabbed her hands to calm her.

"Don't be nervous," she soothed. "Stand tall and be proud of who you are. You are the girl who single handedly brought light back into Ben's eyes. You are the girl he chose, and for good reason. He thinks you are a princess, and you should too."

"He's here," a stylist called from the front.

Rey looked at the stylist in front of her. "Thank you for everything today."

"The pleasure was all mine. Now," she placed Rey's curls, "go get your prince."

All eyes were on Ben as she walked up to him.

His eyes went wide as she appeared from the back, then love flooded his features.

He was already dressed in his tux, his hair lying perfectly.

When she was close enough, he held out a hand for her. "Rey," he said as she took it. "You look stunning."

A collective "awe" filled the salon and Rey blushed.

He twirled her gently, taking in her appearance. "I always knew you were a princess, now you look it." He pulled her close and kissed her softly.

The amount of love behind the kiss made Rey's heart pound. "You are very handsome, yourself."

Ben turned to Melanie. "Everything has been settled. Thank you for taking care of my girl."

"Anytime," she replied. "Have fun you two."

Ben had a hard time taking his eyes off his girlfriend, even as they drove to his house.

"Thank you for everything today, Ben," Rey told him. "I've never had an experience like that before. And I've never felt so special to someone." Her hand reached over to grab his. "I love you."

"I love you too."

When they reached Ben's house, he turned off the car and looked at her. Leaning over he kissed her again. "You look so amazing."

"Thank you," she replied softly.

"Are you ready for this?"

She nodded, and Ben got out of the car first to come to her side and open the door for her, helping her out.

Leia looked out the window when she heard her son's car enter the driveway. "Han," she purred, "she is gorgeous. Oh, my goodness, look at the way he looks at her."

Han stood and watched as his son and Rey walked hand in hand up to the door. Even now Ben couldn't take his eyes of her. "He really does love this girl."

They backed away from the window as the two teens drew closer. When the door finally opened, they stood next to each other, eager to meet the girl who had enamored their son.

They rounded the corner and stopped.

"Rey, this is my mother, Leia, and my father, Han. Mom, dad, this is Rey." Ben introduced.

Han reached out to shake her hand. "Strong grip you got there, kid."

Leia skipped the handshake and embraced the girl instead. "It's so good to finally meet you. Luke has told me all about you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rey said quietly.

Leia looked at her son. "She's adorable."

"Okay, dear," Han said placing a hand on her shoulder. "We don't want to keep them too long, let's take some pictures and let them go."

"Fine," Leia agreed. "But, Rey, you must come over for dinner sometime so we can get to know you better."

"That sounds great, Mrs. Solo," Rey replied.

"Please, just call me Leia," she insisted. She handed Ben a corsage and Rey a boutonniere and snapped pictures as they placed them on each other.

More pictures were taken and the two left for the evening.

They meet Finn and Rose at the restaurant and had a nice dinner, then headed over to the Prom.

Rey found herself super grateful for the phone Ben had given her, and its amazing camera. She took a ton of photos.

They all danced and talked and had a good time.

"Alright students," Principal Windu said into the mic about halfway through the evening. "It's time to announce your prom royalty."

Excitement filled the room as most of the students drew closer to the man.

"This year's prom king is," he opened the envelope very slowly, "no surprise, Ben Solo."

Ben smiled and squeezed Rey's hand before walking up to claim his crown and scepter.

Phasma slid in beside Rey. "I do hope you'll enjoy watching me dance with your man," she sneered.

Rey looked over at her. "Dance with him all you want, it won't change a thing."

Phasma's eyes narrowed. "You're awfully sure of yourself today."

"No," Rey responded with a smile. "I'm sure of my relationship with Ben."

"And for our prom queen," the principal spoke again. He opened the envelope and smiled. "This one was close, but your prom queen is, Rey Smith."

Phasma yelled out in anger as Rey shot her a look of triumph and walked to join her boyfriend.

They placed a tiara on her head and gave her a bouquet of roses.

Ben looked proud as she turned to look at him, a huge grin on her face.

"Now for your prom royalty to have their dance," the principal said.

Bryan Adam's 'I do it for you', began to play and Ben happily led the girl to the dance floor.

Holding her close he began to sway back and forth.

"Told you," Ben whispered happily into her ear.

Rey laughed. "You we're right." She pulled away from his chest to look him in the eyes. "I love you."

Ben pulled her close again. "I love you too."

Watching happily from the side, Rose gasped. "Did she just tell Ben she loved him?" she asked Finn who was next to her.

"Are they that deep in their relationship?" Finn countered with a question of his own.

Ben and Rey's relationship was known throughout the school, but they kept most things private.

Rey had failed to tell her best friend that they had confessed their love to one another.

"Listen to the words of this song, Rey," Ben told her. "This is how I feel about you."

She closed her eyes and listened while breathing in his scent.

As soon as the song ended an upbeat song began to play and the dance floor was flooded again.

Ben leaned down and kissed her.

When they went to sit down Rose bombarded her.

"Either I'm really bad at lip reading or you told Ben you loved him. When did that happen?"

Rey and Ben both went red.

"If you were trying to hide it, that was as bad time to say it, even if people couldn't hear it, I'm sure most of them could tell what you said," Finn added.

"It wasn't really a secret," Rey offered. "We just weren't announcing it to the world."

"Well you just did," Rose stated.

"That's fine," Ben said. "I'm not ashamed of our love. If the whole school knows, then the whole school knows. I don't care either way." He reached over and grabbed Rey's hand.

She smiled. "Me either."

"You two are so cute together," Rose swooned. "Remember at the beginning of the year, when you couldn't stand to look at him?"

Rey laughed. "It's funny how things turned out. Isn't it, Ben?"

Ben shook his head. "It was different for me, I fell in love with you over the summer while helping out my uncle."

Rey blushed. "That long?"

"Yeah."

Rey leaned forward and kissed him.

"Let's go get something to eat," Ben suggested.

Rey laughed but nodded and the two stood up. As soon as Rey stood and turned a hand flew out of nowhere, slapping her on the cheek.

Rey's hand flew to her red flesh, and Ben stepped in front of her.

"What the hell, Phasma?" He asked.

"It's not fair, Kylo," Phasma nearly screamed. "First, she steals my man, then she steals my crown. You were mine first, Kylo, I loved you long before _she_ came around." Tears began to pool in her eyes.

Ben surprised her by wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Phasma. We had some good times, but I never felt that way about you."

"I know," she cried. "It's not fair."

Hux appeared behind the girl, giving Ben an apologetic look. He grabbed the girl gently and pulled her away from Ben.

"I think it's time to go home," Hux told the girl softly.

Phasma embraced the red-head and nodded.

"Thanks, Hux." Ben nodded once to the boy, and they walked away.

"I didn't know she was in love with you," Rey said.

"She acts tough, but she's really fragile," Ben replied, turning to look at his girlfriend. "She never told me, but I had suspected." His hand grazed her cheek. "Are you okay?"

Rey nodded. "I've been through worse."

"C'mon, let's go get some food." Ben grabbed her hand and they walked off.

The rest of the night was like a dream, and soon the night was ending.

They bid farewell to Rose and Finn and got into Ben's car.

"Thank you for the best day ever," Rey said.

Ben smiled. "You're welcome."

"I don't want this night to end," Rey admitted. "Do you think we could spend the night together?"

"Sure," Ben replied without hesitation.

"Can we stay at your place? Your bed is much bigger, and I'm sure more comfortable." Rey blushed as she said it.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I mean, if your parents won't mind."

Ben laughed. "I'm sure they'd be more than fine getting to spend more time with you."

When they got to Ben's house his parents were still up.

"Good to see you again, Rey," Leia said.

"Rey is gonna spend the night," Ben stated.

"Great!" Leia smiled. "Do you need something to take all that make-up off, dear?" She asked Rey.

Rey blushed. "If you have something I can use, that would be great. If not, I'm okay with soap and water."

"Soap will not get all that off. I'll go grab some stuff and bring it to you in Ben's room," Leia offered.

"Thank you," Rey replied.

Han watched as they disappeared up the stairs, and smirked as he hollered. "Use protection."

Leia shot her husband a nasty look.

"What?" He asked.

"Ben said they were waiting," she admonished.

"Do you know how many teenagers lose their virginity on prom night? A lot," he replied.

Leia shook her head and walked up the stairs. She glanced into Ben's room as she passed at and noticed Rey struggling to get the myriad of bobby pins out of her hair.

"Rey," Leia said softly.

Rey jumped but turned to look at the woman.

Leia smiled. "Come with me, I'll help you."

Rey followed Leia to a smaller room. A large vanity covered one wall, containers of make-up neatly organized in its surface. Hair stuff was off to the other side.

"Have a seat, dear, and let me help you get those things out." Leia pointed to the chair.

Rey sat in the low chair and Leia moved behind her. "Thank you."

The older woman began picking out the pins keeping Rey's hair in place.

"This must be what it's like," Rey said quietly.

"What?" Leia questioned.

"Having a mother," Rey replied.

Leia stopped and looked at the girl through the mirror. "Oh, Rey," she breathed. She leaned down and hugged the girl from behind. "I always wanted a daughter, but after Ben, Han and I never we're able to have another." She smiled and returned to removing pins from Rey's hair. "Perhaps I will get a daughter sometime soon." She winked at Rey through the mirror and the teen blushed.

"I don't think we're quite there yet," Rey admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I love Ben; but there are still so many differences between us, and I don't know that I'd be able to adapt to this lifestyle."

Leia removed the last of the bobby pins and began to pull out the hair ties. "This lifestyle?"

Rey turned red. "I'm not trying to be rude. You, Han, and Ben all live very lavish lives; I struggle to eat most of the time. I have to budget every last penny. Ben throws money around like it's nothing, I have never been able to think like that, and I don't know that I ever will.

"I love that he spoils me, but I feel like I'm not good enough for him, and I don't like feeling like I owe him."

Her hair fell around her face and Leia ran her fingers through her soft locks.

"You don't owe Ben anything," the woman said picking up a hair brush and running it through her hair. "Your love for him is more than enough. I have never seen my son smile as much as he has the past few months." She finished brushing her hair and moved to grab something off the desk. Handing Rey a make up remover wipe, she leaned against the desk. "Ben showers you with gifts because he loves you, he doesn't want anything in return. He's trying to take care of you the best way he knows how.

"You make him a better person, Rey. As long as you love him, he will never want for anything."

Rey paused, make-up wipe in hand, and looked up at his boyfriend's mom. "Do you really think so?"

"My dear, I know so."

Rey continued to wipe her face. "Thank you, Leia."

"Get that make up off and go shower," Leia told her. "Out of all the girls Ben could choose, he chose you. That means something. The fact that he's waiting for you, to be intimate, means even more. Ben chose you, Rey, don't ever feel like you're not enough, because you are."

Rey smiled and stood up. "Thank you, for everything!"

She headed back to Ben's room to find him already out of the shower, only his pajama pants on.

"Your mother is very sweet," she told him.

"I'm glad you like her," Ben replied.

She walked up to him and kissed him gently. "I need something to sleep in."

Ben nodded and headed over to his dresser where he pulled out a large t-shirt and handed it to her. "Will this work?"

Rey nodded. "Will you unzip me?" She turned around and moved her hair to the front to give him better access.

Closing the distance Ben gingerly undid the zipper. When he was done, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her exposed neck, causing her to jump.

"Ben," she breathed.

His kisses continued to trail down her neck and shoulders. "Rey," he whispered. "Can I have you?"

Snapping out of her euphoria she gently pulled out of his embrace. "I need to go shower." Holding onto her dress she slipped away from him.

As the hot water washed over her, Rey shuddered. Her body had reacted to Ben instantly. Part of her wanted him, but another part of her feared the action.

When she finally got out of the shower, she realized she didn't have a spare pair of underwear and panicked for a moment. Ultimately, she decided she wouldn't need them, and since the shirt went all the way down to her knees, Ben would never know.

She crawled into the bed and lay down. "Oh, Ben I was totally right, your bed is so much comfier than mine." She let out a big yawn.

Ben turned off the lamp by his bed and scooted closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied sleepily, another yawn escaping her.

Ben leaned up on his arm a few moments later to kiss her, and found that she was fast asleep. He smiled and cuddled closer to her, soon falling asleep too.

That's it for this chapter. Stay tuned for more. Please be aware this chapter was written on my phone, so sorry for any errors. Please review.

Gohaun


	7. Soulmates

This chapter gets a little adult and angsty. You have been warned. Also, there's some stuff about soulmates later in this chapter; I just made it up, just roll with it.

 **Soulmates**

Rey woke the next morning refreshed. She rolled over to cuddle with Ben. He moaned happily when she nuzzled into his back, and his fingers interlinked with hers.

"Good morning," he said sleepily.

"Good morning," she echoed, kissing his back softly.

"Rey," he breathed, "don't do that."

"What?" She asked playfully. "This?" She kissed him again.

Without replying he quickly turned over and pulled her into a heated kiss. His hand ran down her side and over her hips. He stopped kissing her. "Are you not wearing any underwear?"

She blushed. "I didn't have a spare."

Ben's eyes went dark. "That's sexy." He kissed her again pulling her close to him, his hardness pushing against her.

"Ben," she whispered as his lips trailed down her chin to her neck.

His hand traveled to the bottom of her shirt, slipping under it to run his hand up her smooth thigh. He was surprised when she didn't stop him when it slid over her butt, continuing up till he was right below her breast.

He looked at her for approval, and when she nodded, his hand moved up to cup her breast.

She had been holding her breath, but when he began to caress her breast, she let it out, a small moan escaping with it.

She pulled his lips down and kissed him hungrily.

His hand left her breast and traveled down to the bottom of the shirt again, he pulled up and over her head.

Her bottom half was still covered by the blankets, but she suddenly felt self conscious and began to cover herself.

"Don't," Ben chided. "You're perfect." He kissed her again lying her on her back and began trailing kisses down her body. He stopped at her breast, taking it into his mouth while one hand played with the other.

Rey moaned softly. As his mouth continued to suckle her breast his hand snaked under the covers to her womanhood.

She stiffened for a moment and Ben paused. He kissed her gently on the lips. The kiss relaxed her, and she opened her legs a little for better access.

Ben watched her face as a finger carefully slid between her folds to gently press against her clit. He made small circles around and over the sensitive bundle, causing Rey to moan.

He kissed her lips again. His finger still working around her bud and teasing her entrance. "God, Rey, you're so wet."

"And you're still clothed," she breathed. "Take your pants off."

Ben quickly obeyed the order, slipping his pants off and throwing them on the floor. When he moved back into position beside her to continue to please her with his hand, she swiftly wrapped her hand around his throbbing cock and began to stroke him.

He let her please him for a few minutes before removing her hand and moving over her. He kissed her hungrily before asking, "Can I have you?"

She knew what he was asking, and shook her head. "I'm not ready for that yet, I'm sorry."

"Can I at least please you with my tongue?" He questioned.

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded her head.

He smiled and began peppering kisses all down her body, finally stopping between her legs. She shivered as his head went down and his tongue gently flicked over her swollen bud.

He licked and sucked making the girl moan in pleasure. Delighting in her sounds he gently pushed a single digit into her heated core.

She gasped as his finger moved in tandem with his mouth, flooding her with pleasure.

"God, Ben," she breathed.

His finger swirled insider her causing her to let out the deepest moan he had heard from her. His administrations continued, growing faster as her moans became more desperate.

She cried out as her body clenched around his finger, but Ben didn't stop. He slipped a second finger inside her as she came and continued to pump into her core, his tongue still swirling and licking at her clit.

Her cries became louder as he continued.

"Fuck, Ben," she mewled.

"Come for me again," he demanded into her womanhood.

The lust in his voice and the way he was moving his fingers sent her over the edge again, and her fingers dug into the bed around her.

Ben slowed and finally stopped when her high faded. He quickly moved up to kiss her passionately.

The taste of herself on his lips surprised her at first, but she found it sexy. As he kissed her, his hand slick with her juices began to pump his hardness.

When the fog cleared from her head, and she realized what Ben was doing, she swiftly took over, and soon her mouth was surrounding his manhood.

It didn't take him long to explode in her mouth, and she drank him happily.

"Rey," Ben puffed. "I want you so bad."

Rey kissed him. "Was that not good?"

"It was great," he replied quickly. "It's just not the same. When you're finally ready, you'll understand what I mean."

"I feel pretty good right now," she purred. "I've never had an orgasm before."

"You mean you've never touched yourself?" He asked.

"No," she told him. "I always just took cold showers. I've never been so turned on that I felt I needed to. I almost did a few times after we've made out, but I just shook it off."

"Just wait," he whispered into her ear. "When we're finally one, and you can physically feel what the other person is feeling, you'll understand what I mean."

"I love you," she said. "Give me some time, and maybe a few more rounds of this, and I'll be ready."

"I love you too," he echoed. "I will wait, I hope you don't think I'm pressuring you."

"You have been so patient, I hope you know how much I appreciate that." She lay her head in his chest and cuddled into him.

They lay there silent for a while until a small knock on the door startled them both.

"Who is it?" Ben nearly growled.

"Its Cassandra, Lady Leia told me to bring up some clothes for Miss Rey," a small voice replied through the door.

"Leave it there, we'll get it in a minute," Ben told her.

"Yes, sir."

"I don't need clothes, I have the ones I wore at the salon yesterday in my bag in your car," Rey said. "The only thing I didn't think about was underwear."

"If I know my Mom, she's thought of everything." Ben kissed Rey on the forehead and crawled out of bed, throwing a pair of pants on before opening the door to retrieve the clothes.

He placed them on the bed and smiled.

Rey's eyes went wide. Leia had thought of everything. She got out of bed and picked up the clothes. "Ben, these are designer clothes, I can't accept these." She checked the sizes. "But they're the perfect size. How did she know?"

"Don't worry about the brand, just put them on. And my mom is a lawyer, she's very observant, when she wants to be."

Rey grabbed the clothes and disappeared into the bathroom, emerging a few moments later in her new outfit, shoes and all.

"You two were very quiet last night," Han remarked when the two teens appeared down stairs.

"Dad!" Ben exclaimed at the same time Leia hollered, "Han!"

"What?" His hands flew up into the air in an act of innocence.

"You heard nothing, cause nothing happened," Ben told him.

Rey snickered at the exchange.

"I'm so sorry about him, Rey," Leia apologized.

"He doesn't bother me. I actually find it entertaining," Rey explained.

"See," Han barked. "She likes me."

X.x.

Over the next few months Rey spent more time and nights at the Solo house.

"You should just move in," Leia told her one day.

Rey laughed. "I couldn't possibly do that."

"Why not?" Ben queried.

"I enjoy spending time here, but I wouldn't want to over stay my welcome. Plus, Ben and I are just dating. What if something happened? I'd have to leave and I'd be in a tough spot," the brunette explained.

"You think we're going to split?" Ben asked.

"No," Rey replied. "It's just, it's not like we're married. I'm still new to all this. I love you Ben, and I love your parents, but I'm still afraid life is going to get me."

At that moment, Han walked into the living room, a big envelope in his hands. "Ben, it's here."

Ben's face went pale.

"What is it?" Rey questioned.

"A letter from Harvard," Leia answered.

"Harvard? You applied to Harvard?" Rey's voice was soft.

"Yeah," Ben told her as his father handed him the envelope.

Everyone waited with bated breath as Ben gingerly opened the package. He pulled out a sheet of paper and began reading. His eyes began to sparkle and a smile ran across his face.

"I got in!"

"That's great!" His mother exclaimed.

"I know you could do it, kid" his father proclaimed.

"Ben that's awesome," Rey told him. "What are you going to study?"

"Law," he said. "I've helped my mother with a few of her cases and found I kind of liked it, so I figured I'd go that direction too."

"Where are you going to school, Rey?" Leia asked.

Rey flushed and looked down at her hands. "Even with financial aid, I can't afford to go to school. I was gonna dive into my work and help out Luke a little more for a few years to save up some money and then maybe think about it. Probably just the community college, eventually."

Her heart began to ache. Here it was, life getting in the way again. Ben would go to school and meet some pretty girl and forget all about her, she was sure of it.

"Come to Massachusetts with me," Ben offered.

"No, Ben," she replied. She looked at the clock on her phone. "I have to go home."

"Rey," Ben pleaded.

She stood up. "Can I have Chewie take me home?" She asked Han. Chewie was Han's very large and strong friend/body guard/ chauffeur. He was a man of few words unless he felt he needed to be heard, but Rey liked the calming aura he bore.

"Yeah," Han replied. "He's probably outside."

"Thanks." She began to walk away and Ben followed her.

"Rey," Ben said again. "Stop."

She ignored him. He growled and once again used his long legs to get in front of her, making her stop before running into him.

"How many times do we have to do this?" He was annoyed. "Rey, I won't leave you. If you don't want to go to Massachusetts, I'll stay here."

Anger filled her eyes, something Ben had not seen from a very long time. "No, you won't."

"Rey, why are you being so difficult?" He whined. "I bet you could get into Harvard, you have perfect grades. We can go together, I can take care of you."

"God, Ben, you're so naïve sometimes," she hissed. "I don't want you to take care of me. I'm not a child. I don't want to go with you, and I love you too much to hold you back." Tears began to form in her eyes.

Ben shook his head. He knew what she was about to do. "Don't do it Rey, don't say it. We can figure this out."

She shook her head softly. "No. I've always said we were too different, this just proves it more."

"Please Rey, just come with me. We can get you through school." He stepped forward trying to place his hands on her shoulders, but she moved back.

"I don't want to go to school, Ben. Don't you get it? I want a simple job, with simple hours. I want to get married some day and have kids, and spend as much time with them as humanly possible. I want to help Master Luke in his studio. I don't need a fancy degree and lots of money like you do." Tears were streaming down her face. "I want a simple life full of love. Maybe I won't be able to give my kids the best electronics or clothes, but I will love them wholeheartedly. I will be there when they need me." Her eyes bore into his. "You won't. You'll be just like your own parents; absent.

"I love you Ben, more than anything in this world, and because I love you, I refuse to be the one who holds you back. I want you to go to school and become the most amazing lawyer."

"No, Rey, don't," Ben begged. Tears had started to pool in his eyes.

"We're done, Ben. Forget about me, go to school. Be successful, cause I know you will be." Rey's eyes met his.

He closed the distance between them and smashed his lips into hers. Their tears mingled as he poured all the love he had for the girl into this kiss.

"Please, don't leave me," Ben cried. "We can figure this out."

"I'm sorry, Ben. I have to do this." She pushed passed him and ran out of the house.

As she disappeared Leia rounded the corner and enveloped her son in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, son."

Rey found Chewie out in the garage. "Can you take me home, please?"

The tall man looked at her and nodded. He grabbed some keys and they got into his favorite car.

The girl began sobbing as soon as they started driving away.

The driver was silent the whole trip. When they arrived at her place, he got out to open the door for her. She threw her arms around him, and he let her cry for a moment.

"Thank you, Chewie," she said after a moment.

"Relationships are full of ups and downs," his grizzly voice told her. "You two have the purest love I have ever seen. You can work this out."

"Not this time, Chewie, not this time." She tried her best to smile at him. "Thanks for the ride."

X.x.x.

"Rey, it's me, Luke," his voice sounded through her apartment door a few days later.

Rey heard him but didn't respond.

"Rey, let me in, I'm worried about you. You haven't been to school for a few days, you missed our training, and you didn't show up for work," he told her. "That's not like you. Leia told me what happened. Talk to me." He waited for a reply before trying the handle. To his surprise the door opened.

"I'm coming in," he announced before walking into her apartment.

She was lying on her bed, her eyes red, her appearance unkempt.

"Rey." He walked over to her and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Master Luke," she said quietly. She surprised him again by shifting her body, allowing her head to rest on his leg.

He petted her softly on the head. "Rey, I'm sorry about you and Ben."

"I've always known this would happen, deep down," she told him.

Something about the way she was talking scared him. He looked around and noticed a large bottle of vodka on the coffee table in front of her bed.

"Are you drunk?" He asked.

She nodded. "I was trying to drown the pain."

"That's not the way to do it, Rey," Luke chided softly.

"I'm tired, Master. Tired of hurting, tired of trying so hard, and tired of life always slapping me in the face. I'm just tired of it all," she slurred.

As her tears soaked through his pants Luke looked down at the girl.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be stronger, Master," she whispered. "I can't live without Ben."

"Then go back to him, it's a simple solution," he offered.

She shook her head. "I love him enough to not want to hold him back. I won't be the reason he doesn't follow his dreams. What kind of person would I be if I did that?"

"Ben loves you, and you love him, you could make it work if you tried," Luke replied.

"It's too late for that." Her tears stopped. "I'm sorry."

"Rey, what did you do?" A bad feeling overwhelmed him.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. You were the closest thing to a father I've had since Mr. Kenobi."

"Rey." Luke sounded almost desperate. His eyes scanned the table in front of him once more, landing on an empty pill bottle. "Rey," he said again. "How many of these did you take?"

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "I'm so tired, Master."

"No, no, no, no, no," Luke said quickly. "Rey don't fall asleep, get up, we have to take you to the hospital."

She shook her head again. "I love you, Master Luke. I'm sorry." Her eyes closed.

Luke jumped up, quickly picked up the small girl and hurried out of her apartment to his car, where he drove her to the nearest hospital.

As soon as she was admitted Luke called Ben.

"Uncle Luke?" Ben asked.

"Ben, I need you to listen carefully," Luke said calmly. "And stay calm."

"What happened?" Ben tried to stay calm.

"Go to Rey's apartment. I need you to look and see what the bottle of pills on her coffee table is," Luke instructed. "Then grab her keys and lock her door and head over to the Rebellion Hospital."

"What happened, Uncle Luke?" Ben's voice quivered.

"I think Rey tried to kill herself," Luke explained. "Hurry."

Ben's voice cracked as he replied. "Okay."

When Ben got to Rey's apartment, he noticed right away the large liquor bottle then the small bottle of pills. He text his uncle the contents of the bottle and turned to find her keys and noticed her phone sitting on her bed.

He opened it and sighed. Every text he had sent her was unopened and she had over 20 missed calls from a number of people, mostly him. Ten voicemails waited for her.

His heart ached as he looked around the small home. Her smell hung in the air. He plopped down on her bed. He had been here so many times, but it seemed different now. Empty, and sad.

Over their time together her room had collected more trinkets and photos. A photo of them at Prom had been framed and now lay on the floor, the glass broken.

This was not Rey's apartment; the person that had resided here the past few days was not the woman he had fallen in love with. He got off the bed and began to clean. First to go was the terrible bottle that had clouded her mind. Next the other bottle that may have killed her.

His eyes blurred with tears as he fervently cleaned the small space, making it look like it always did when she was here.

When he was done cleaning, he went to the nearest store and bought new frames for all the ones she had broken in her drunken anger. He also bought a few bouquets of flowers.

He placed one bouquet in a vase on her kitchen counter and took the other one with him when he left. Making sure he had both his and her phone and keys, he left the now clean apartment, making sure to lock the door as he went.

"What took you so long?" Luke asked when his nephew finally appeared beside him in the waiting room.

"I couldn't leave her apartment looking that way," Ben explained. "I had to clean it, make it look the way it always did." His voice cracked. "It needs to be good for when she gets back to it." His eyes met the older man's. "She will make it back, won't she?"

"I don't know yet," Luke answered honestly. "I haven't heard anything."

"I should have gone over there," Ben said. "I had a bad feeling today, and called her so many times but when she didn't answer I tried to brush it off." Tears escaped their prison. "I should have been the one to be there."

"What does your gut tell you?" Luke asked.

"I don't know," Ben replied. "Why does it matter?"

"You said you got a bad feeling earlier, what does your gut say now?" Luke repeated.

"I said, I don't know," Ben nearly yelled.

"Focus Ben, stop over reacting and focus on Rey," Luke responded calmly.

"Why?" Ben repeated.

"God you are stubborn. I'm trying to test a theory," Luke explained. "I'm sure you've heard of soul mates?"

Ben nodded.

"Legend says soul mates are two people who share the same soul. Two people who are connected by some sort of force. It's said when these two people meet and fall in love they can feel when something is wrong with one another. I want you to reach out with your heart and feel for Rey. Tell me what you think."

Ben handed his uncle the flowers he brought and moved to one of the bigger seats in the waiting area. Crossing his legs, he sat up tall, closed his eyes, and focused on the girl he had been thinking about for the past two days.

Something happened, as if the world around him faded, and everything was quiet. Suddenly, there she was. She seemed hazy at first, like it was his minds way of telling him it wasn't real.

"Rey?" He asked softly. His voice seemed so loud in the silence around him.

Ben couldn't tell if they were in his mind or her mind at the moment, all he knew was she didn't turn to look at him, and the light began to fade as he closed the distance between them.

He was right behind her now. Surely, she could hear him breathing? He reached out, his hand shaking, and touched her gently.

"Rey."

She jumped and turned slowly. "Ben?"

Relief washed over him as he muttered her name once more and she threw her arms around him.

"Ben, I'm so sorry," she cried.

He ran his hand over her back, trying to soothe her. "It's okay. You're okay."

"It's been so dark, so very dark," she told him quietly, fear in her voice. She pulled away from him and looked up at him.

Ben didn't say anything, he just leaned down and kissed her.

"Ben," Luke's voice echoed in the space around them. "Ben, the doctor is coming."

The tall boy pulled out of the kiss. "I have to go." He took a few steps back and watched as the woman he loved faded from his sight.

The real world seemed so bright when Ben finally opened his physical eyes.

Luke smiled at him. "Did you find her?"

Ben nodded. "She's alive."

"Mr. Skywalker," a tall doctor walked over to him.

"Yeah?" Luke stood up.

"Rey will be fine, you brought her in before anything could really hit her system, we pumped her stomach. She's still out, but she should be waking up soon," the doc explained.

"Thank you," Luke said.

"Does she have any family?" She asked. "I noticed you didn't put any information down for her parents."

Luke shook his head slowly. "Rey is an orphan, I'm the closest thing she's got to a parent."

"Oh." The doctor's face fell. "You can go see her if you'd like."

"Please," Luke replied.

"Also, do you know who Ben is?" she questioned. "Rey has been whispering his name for the past few minutes."

Ben stood up quickly. "That's me, I'm Ben."

"Something tells me she'll want to see you when she wakes." The doctor smiled. "Follow me."

The moment they stepped foot into the room, Ben went to her side. His hand taking hers.

"If she wakes before we come back, please let me know," the doctor told them.

Luke nodded. "Thanks."

Ben leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead.

Luke moved a chair over to him so he could sit down close to the girl.

"I can't believe she took it this far," Ben told his uncle.

"She has fought for everything her entire life," Luke responded. "Loosing you, her soulmate, was the worst pain she had ever felt. She told me she was tired, and she couldn't live without you."

"I never wanted her to leave, I told her we could work it out," Ben said. "But she was determined to go." He looked over at the older man. "She's afraid of being hurt, but she's the one who instigated all this. I never wanted her to leave. I called and texted, begged to her voicemail, and cried for hours, but never once did the thought of killing myself occur to me."

"There comes a point in everyone's life when they're done fighting, Ben," Luke retorted. "In that moment, for her, she was done. Don't take it out in her."

"I won't," Ben promised. "I guess I just have a hard time understanding." He turned back to the girl. "Rey is so focused on how different we are she has a hard time seeing how similar we are. I love her, and I never want to leave her; I thought I made that clear, but she is so afraid she can't see it. She is so afraid of me leaving her that she jumps at every opportunity to leave me.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to make sure she never has to worry about where her next meal is coming from, or whether she's going to be able to pay her rent.

"She has had a tough life, I'm trying to make it easier for her, but she doesn't want to let me."

"She's scared," Luke said.

"I know." Ben sighed. "I know." He kissed the girl on her hand. "Why don't you trust me, Rey?"

They were silent for a moment.

"What did you feel when you were meditating?" Luke asked, breaking the silence.

"I didn't just feel her, Uncle Luke. It was like I was in her mind. I saw her, and physically felt her, even talked to her. It was dark and she was scared. But she told me she was sorry.

"It was as real as talking to you right now."

Luke grinned. "I was right."

The girl stirred. "Ben?"

Ben squeezed her hand. "I'm here Rey."

"Ben," she repeated happily.

He kissed her hand again.

"I'll go get a doctor," Luke offered, standing.

"Thanks," Ben said to him.

"Ben, am I going crazy, or were you in my mind a little while ago?" She asked.

Ben laughed gently. "I'm so glad it wasn't just me. Luke thinks we're connected, that we're soulmates."

"I've never known Master Luke to be wrong," she rasped.

"Rey . . ." Ben began.

"Good, you're awake," the doctor said as she entered the room. "How do you feel?"

"My throat hurts," Rey admitted.

"It will," the doctor told her. "Rey, Mr. Skywalker was able to get you here quick enough there will be no lasting effects on your physical health. However, you tired to commit suicide, so we'd like to do a psychological assessment to make sure you're stable enough to let go."

"I'll be fine," Rey told her. "I was just really, really drunk and not thinking straight. I was having a really bad few days."

"Even so," the doctor replied. "With no supervising adult to watch you, it would be irresponsible for me to let you go."

"I will take responsibility for her," Luke popped up.

The doctor turned to look at him. "What are you two to her?"

"Luke is my martial arts master, and Ben is my," Rey paused, "good friend."

Ben shot the girl a look that would have killed if possible, and she looked away.

"Master Luke is the closest thing I have to a parent," Rey continued.

"If you're willing to take responsibility for her Mr. Skywalker I'll release her under your care," she said. "There is no reason to keep her here. But I still want you to talk to a psychiatrist, Rey. I'll send him up and start working on your paperwork."

Rey nodded and the doctor left.

"Good friend?" Ben asked the girl.

"Ben, don't," Rey begged.

"Rey, you tried to kill yourself, and even though we broke up, I'm still here," Ben began. "You kissed me when I was in your head, and said you were sorry. We don't have to do this. We can pretend this didn't happen and go back to the way things were."

"What do you want me to say? That I don't love you? Cause I do. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't want to hold you back. I told you what I wanted," Rey replied.

"I can give you all that. I won't be absent in our children's lives," Ben retorted. "I want a good job and I want to go to school, but none of that will mean anything if you're not by my side. I love you, Rey. Can't you see? I'm just trying to give you the life you deserve."

"Can I chime in here?" Luke asked.

The teens looked over at him.

"I may be a hopeless romantic, but I truly believe you two are soulmates," Luke told them. "The fact that Ben was able to get into your mind and that he felt something was wrong today strongly suggests it. But I've known both of you a very long time, and I have never seen either of you as happy as you are when you're together.

"Rey, since being with Ben you've opened up more and your confidence in yourself has grown immensely.

"And Ben, you have become kinder and less selfish.

"I have seen both of you grow so much over the past few months. Rey, you are the closest thing I will ever have to a daughter, and, Ben, you are my nephew. I only want what's best for both of you, and being together is honestly for the best." He walked closer to Rey's bed. "I know you're scared Rey, but trust me and trust Ben. Things will get hard, that's how relationships are, but it's how you get through it that matters the most.

"You can't keep running away from life, Rey. It's hard, and it sucks, but running only makes it worse." His hand landed on her ankle. "Ben has fought for you since day one. Even when you still believed you hated him, he was patient, and persistent; he fought to keep you despite all the times you pushed him away. He will do that all through your lives.

"He will fight for you, and your children later in life. Stop running, Rey. Embrace your life, embrace the happiness, and most of all, embrace Ben and the love he has for you."

There was silence for a moment as they simply stared at the man standing at the foot of the bed. Then Rey began to laugh. Lightly at first, then harder.

Ben smiled at the sound of her laugh.

"What's so funny?" Luke asked.

"All this time I thought I was good at hiding everything from everyone. But here you are, and you just hit the nail on the head," she replied. "Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself."

"It's time to let old things die, Rey," Ben told her. "Stop holding onto the past and start looking towards the future."

She looked at the man who had changed her life. "Ben, is not that easy. The fear is still there."

"No, no, you're still holding on," Ben growled. "Let go." He took her hand in his and looked deep into her eyes. "Let go of the fear," he said more softly. "Luke is right. It's time for you to embrace what is right in front of you. Let me love you, and take care of you. Stop holding on to the past, Rey. It's time to look towards the future."

Tears were running down her face once more.

"Maybe you're right," she cried.

"I am right, Rey," Ben told her. "I love you, you know I do. Let me, please."

"Okay," she agreed quietly. "I love you, Ben."

He leaned down and kissed her softly.

That's the end of this chapter. What did you all think? Please review and I'll see you in the next chapter.

Gohaun


	8. Proposal

This chapter gets adult.

 **Proposal**

Ben looked over at his mother. "I want to marry Rey."

She placed the paper she was reading down and looked at her son over her reading glasses. "Are you sure?" She wanted to jump for joy, but this was a very large decision.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," he responded. "I love her, and I can't imagine my life without her." He sighed. "I know she still has doubts about going to Massachusetts with me; I think if we were to get married, she would feel more secure about it."

Leia smiled. "I think you're right, Ben."

"I know a ring is a lot of money, are you okay letting me buy one?" He asked.

"Of course!" The woman smiled at him.

"Will you come with me?" He questioned quietly. "To pick a ring? I need a woman's eye."

Her smile widened. "I'd love to."

X.x.

"When are you going to pop the question?" Leia asked a few days later as she and her son we're looking at rings.

"I was thinking graduation night, at the party," Ben answered. "What do you think of this one?" He pointed at a ring with multiple stones.

"I think you should keep it simple," Leia told him. "That one is very pretty, but I think Rey would like something smaller." She walked over to the single stone rings. "Like this."

Ben smiled at his mother. "This is why I needed you to come."

X.x.x

Rey stared at her empty apartment. Even though graduation was still a month away, her lease was up, and Ben had insisted she move in with him for the last few months. She had donated everything she didn't need to the local orphanage, and everything else had been boxed up and moved to Ben's house already. She didn't even require a truck for all her belongings.

It was a bittersweet moment for her. This was the first place she had ever called home; the only stability she'd had for years. It was small, but it was hers.

Ben appeared in her doorway. "Ready?"

She turned to look at him. He held his hand out for her, and fear washed over her. She had tried to let the fear go after she'd been released from the hospital, but bits of it still clung to her.

As she began to leave the only constant she'd had in her life, she was scared. She loved Ben, and she knew he would never leave her, but she was still afraid.

Ben saw the fear in her eyes. "It's okay, Rey." He stretched his hand out to her further. "Let's go."

She looked around her apartment one last time and picked up her key before taking his hand and crossing the threshold.

X.x.x

"I can't believe it's finally here," Rey said looking in the mirror and adjusting her graduation gown.

Ben wrapped his arms around her from behind. "This year has gone by fast." He kissed her cheek.

She spun in his arms and leaned up to kiss him. "What a year it has been."

"I'm so happy you're in my life," Ben purred.

"We have to go before we're late," Rey told him.

Ben groaned but let her go. "I'll be right there, meet me at the car."

"Okay," Rey said with a smile.

As she left Ben double checked his sock drawer to make sure the ring box still resided there. He knew the time was still few hours away, but his heart was pounding.

"Is everything okay?" Rey asked as they drove to the venue for graduation.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"Are you nervous?"

Ben shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. "No, why would I be nervous?" He answered almost too quickly.

"Your speech?" She offered. "You are the valedictorian after all. I know you've been practicing, but that's a lot of people to address."

Ben let out the breath he had been holding. "Yeah, my speech."

She reached over and took his hand. "You'll be great."

The graduation ceremony went on without a hitch, and soon they were back at the Solo household with a small group of friends, celebrating.

Ben had run up to his room and was now back with his friends, and more nervous than ever.

He stood in front of his friends and family and called everyone's attention.

"What a year this has been," he stated. A large cheer from the crowd agreed. "We won state in football, made it to finals in basketball, and we made it out alive." Another loud cheer. "For me personally, this has been the most amazing year. I got into Harvard, and I met the woman of my dreams. Rey." He walked toward her and offered her a hand.

"What is he doing?" Luke asked his sister beside him.

"Just watch," Leia told him. Her phone was out, recording the whole thing.

"You have turned my world upside-down," Ben told the girl in front of him. "I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you; that someone could have such an impact on my life, or that I could be so happy."

He got down on one knee and Rey gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

"Will you marry me?" He asked.

Happy tears streamed down her face as she nodded. "Yes."

He got up quickly and put the ring on her finger before kissing her.

"You knew he was going to do this, didn't you Leia?" Luke asked her.

"I did," she replied. "Come, let's go congratulate them."

X.x.

Ben couldn't keep his eyes off his new fiancé all night, so when the party was finally over and they were back in the room they now shared, he pushed her against the door and kissed her hungrily.

Her hands dove into his hair and pulled gently.

"Ben," she whispered softly as his lips traveled down her neck.

His hands traveled to her back and unzipped her dress allowing it to fall to the ground around her.

Within seconds she was naked and laying on the bed, Ben's head between her legs, licking and sucking her, two digits pumping inside her.

She squirmed and moaned beneath him.

"Ben," she mewled. "I want you."

He stopped as the words registered in his foggy brain.

"Are you sure?" he asked. His fingers had stopped for a moment.

"Yes," she panted. "Make love to me, Ben. I'm ready."

His fingers began to move again, and his tongue went back to her clit.

"Ben, I'm going to come," she warned him.

"Do it," he almost demanded.

She crashed over the edge, crying out his name and as soon as it ended, Ben stood and removed his own clothes. Moving to his side table he pulled out a condom and rolled it over his hardness.

Rey watched him intently, still panting slightly from her orgasm.

Ben kissed her gently as he positioned himself between her legs.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah," she whispered. "We are getting married, and I love you so very much. I'm ready."

He kissed her again then entered her slowly. She winced as he stretched her. Taking a finger, he slowly rubbed her sensitive clit and she moaned.

"How many times have you done this?" She asked breathily.

"More times than I care to admit," he answered honestly. "But this will be the last time I ever take someone's virginity." He was sheathed inside her completely and he moaned. "You're so tight, Rey."

He leaned down and kissed her passionately, allowing her body to adjust to his size.

To his surprise it was her that began to move first, lifting her hips against him. Taking the hint, he began to move slowly inside her. Pulling out just a little before moving back inside her.

As her moans became those of pleasure rather than pain, he pulled out further allowing them both more friction.

"God, Rey," Ben moaned. "You feel so much better than I ever imagined."

"Ben," she moaned. "Go faster."

He happily complied, and began to move faster and harder into her.

"If we keep going like this, I'm not going to last long," he warned her. "You are so tight."

"It's okay," she told him. "I'm close to, just don't stop."

As he began to slip over the edge, she cried out and her body tightened around him, making him crash into oblivion.

His lips crashed into hers, devouring her cries, as they rode through their bliss. He slowed and soon stopped, but not wanting to lose the feeling, he stayed inside her, kissing her again and again.

"I see what you meant," she finally whispered.

"Huh?" he asked. His mind was still in a fog.

"When you said it was different," she replied. "I like being one with you."

He kissed her. "I love you." He pulled out of her and disposed of the used rubber before laying down.

She lay down next to him, her head on his chest. "I love you too."

They let there silently, wrapped in each other's arms.

"Ben?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah?" He sounded tired.

"Promise me you'll love me forever."

He kissed her on the forehead. "Forever." He chuckled softly.

"What?"

He kissed her forehead again. "I was just remembering something about the first of the year."

"Oh?"

"When I told you there was a fine line between love and hate," he explained. "I'm so glad you crossed that fine line."

END

That's it for this fic folks! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and check out my other works! Thanks!

Gohaun


End file.
